Boomerangs: Our Story
by Mosie1213
Summary: A longer and different version to the oneshot Boomerangs. This one is told in both points of view of Brooke and Lucas in different chapters. Other characters will have parts at certain points in the story. Better summary inside. Please read!
1. Intro & Prologue

**_Okay…so I know how much my readers loved my last oneshot. Boomerangs. And I loved writing that story too. So much, in fact, that I am not ready to be done with it. So a friend and I have decided to turn it into a longer, slightly different version._**

_**As you can see, the story is called Boomerangs: Our story. It is Brooke and Lucas's story, a story of how they found their way back to each other after their break up this season and Lucas choosing Peyton over her. Each chapter will be a different point of view, starting with both of them in the prologue, and then Brooke in the first, followed by Lucas and so on and so on. The way I would like this to go, the final chapter, the epilogue will end in both of their POV again. I am really excited about this story, and so is morgan, my co author. She will be writing the Lucas chapters while I write the Brooke ones.**_

_**Now, I am taking on this story as I complete What Life is This as well, so I will be updating as often as I can with school and writing that. Plus, sometimes I will have to wait for morgan's chapters. But I plan to keep this going nonetheless. I am really anxious to see how welcomed this story will be. So I really hope you enjoy it. I will be starting ASAP. Enjoy!! And please, please review!!! If anyone ever wants to let morgan know what you think of her chapters, she can be found at betterthencw. (something like that) and her name there is benz405. Anyway…on with the story.**_

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**_PROLOGUE_**

_Boomerangs…you know, those little L-shaped Frisbees that you throw out into the world that always come back? No matter which way you throw them, they always come back to where they started. We really love boomerangs, especially when they find their way back._

_Boomerangs are very special to us. They are a symbol of our love and our relationship, a relationship that has been through so much. So much in fact, that we have convinced ourselves several times that it could never work, that we were not right for each other. After all, we got back together and broke up half a dozen times. How could it ever work? But…whenever we did give up on one another, things always changed. We always found our way back. It's truly amazing._

_So how does all this, us, relate to boomerangs? Well, it is kind of a long story, but it is a story we are more than happy to share…_


	2. ONE

_**ONE**_

New York City, New York…the city that never sleeps. I see what they mean by that now. It's very busy in the city night and day. I haven't really had a chance or time yet to experience the city life yet, since I've only been here a few weeks. I've been busy getting situated and registered for classes. But I really think I'm going to like it here, even if I am alone in a big city. It'll be a fresh start for me.

I left Tree Hill about a week after graduation, much to the surprise and disappointment of my friends. I mean they knew I was leaving, knew I was moving to New York to attend college, but I don't think they expected me to leave so soon. The truth is…I didn't plan on leaving so soon when I'd decided on New York. But it hurt too much for me to be there in Tree Hill anymore and have my heart break a little more each day I had to see my boyfriend and best friend together.

I let him go, I'll admit that. So maybe it is kind of my fault Lucas and Peyton are together, but that doesn't mean it's what I wanted, because it's not. I mean who wants the man they're like completely in love with to go and be with another woman, let alone their best friend? Not me, that's for damn sure. I don't know what the hell I was thinking telling him it was okay, but I did.

Maybe I did it because of that saying I heard once. I don't remember who said it, but I remember what they said: "If you love something, set it free. And if it comes back, it's yours forever." So maybe I am testing that. It gives me a little hope, which is something I could definitely use right now.

It's been really lonely the past month without anyone I know to talk to. I really miss hanging out with Haley (and obviously I miss Lucas, but let's not think about him right now). I mean Haley and I talk on the phone like every day since I left, but it's not the same. We still can't hang out like we used to. And I really need my best friend right now.

It's so quiet in this little apartment, and the silence makes me much more aware of how alone I am. The apartment is great though…cute and affordable. It's above this amazing little coffee shop where I've had breakfast almost every morning since I got here. It reminds me of Karen's, so I like spending my free time there. It's very convenient too, the apartment…right down the street from school. I love everything about this apartment except for the silence, and I'm also starting to wonder if this little place is going to be big enough.

I never expected to feel this lonely, even though I've always been afraid of being alone. But I am out in the real world now and it is really scary, especially now. Still, I've never been this afraid before, of anything. And then the stick turned blue.

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_**Alright, there's the first chapter, sorry it's short, but I figured that the best way to get into the story and keep you all wanting more. LOL Morgan's chapter will follow, and as soon as I get it from her, I will post it. And some of you are hoping she is as good as a write as me, and let me tell you, YES SHE IS!!!! She is an incredible writer. She has a great brucas story going on right now at betterthencw. and it is really good so far. Anway, the next chapter is coming soon. While you wait, please review!!! Thanks.**_


	3. TWO

_**TWO**_

It's so weird not having Brooke here. There hasn't been a time in three years that she hasn't been close by. Now she's 13 hours away in New York City and everything feels different. In a matter of three months, my life has changed in more ways than I ever expected. Although I'm extremely happy with Peyton, I can't help but feel a little bit lost without the sameness that my life has had for the past couple years. I finally settled into a routine that I was comfortable with and then the whole world shifted again, or at least it felt like it did.

Don't get me wrong, Peyton's great. She's beautiful, amazing and she makes me laugh and smile a hundred different times a day. But I also miss Brooke. I knew she was leaving eventually for New York, but I didn't expect her to leave two days after graduation.

She just dropped by, gave me a neatly folded letter and disappeared into a cab without even looking back. She didn't seem hesitant or anything and she told me not to open the letter until after she left. So I'd waited and then read.

**_Hey Luke—_**

_**I'm writing this letter because I know that when I actually say goodbye to you, it'll be too hard to say everything I want to say to you. So, here goes.**_

_**I love you. I will always love you, even though we've moved on. I am going to miss you so much, but I think that it would be best if we didn't talk to each other for awhile. It's better for you, for Peyton and for me. It's time we all move on from this awkwardness that has been pretty much the last half of our senior year. You and Peyton are together now, and that's how it should be I guess.**_

_**You need someone, Lucas, and so does she. I tried to be that person for both of you, that person who takes care of you, but I guess life just got in the way and took us all in different directions, you and Peyton together. We knew it would happen someday, but I guess we just weren't prepared, at least I wasn't.**_

_**Anyway, tell everyone goodbye for me again. Give them my love, and remind Haley to call me when she brings that little Naley bundle of joy into the world. I'll never forget all the great times you and I had together on that wild ride we called a relationship. I'll never forget us, but I think it's time you do…for everyone's sake.**_

_**Okay, I'm going to end this now. I'll be fine on my own. I'm stronger now than I used to be. So don't worry about me, okay? I won't get into any trouble, like prostitution or alcoholism and all that.**_

_**I love you, Lucas Scott…always. Don't tell Peyton this, but I love her too. Good luck with college and your life. **_

_**Always Yours,**_

_**Brooke**_

So there it is…her goodbye to me, a sappy, sweet letter she knew would make me cry. But maybe she was right. I'll always have a history with her, a history I never want to forget, but it should stay history. I'm madly in love with Peyton and I need to focus on my future with her, not dwell in the past.

I think maybe my problem is that I can't be happy. When I was with Brooke, I still missed the unpredictability of Peyton. And when I'm with Peyton, I still miss Brooke's sense of adventure and spontaneity. It seems like I won't let myself be happy.

I mean look at Nathan and Haley. Whenever something happens in their life that threatens to hurt their relationship, they somehow find a way to get past it or get through it and be happy again. Why can't I figure out how to do that?

All right…I think it's about time I end my pity party. I need to let it all go and move on like Brooke said I should. Hopefully everything will work out like she said. I just hope she will be okay in New York.

I know she's been taking care of herself for awhile now, but she's always had a support system in her friends, and she's so much more familiar with Tree Hill. The only place Brooke has been in New York are the malls. I just hope she'll be able to survive in that huge city without her friends or parents. She's always been afraid of being alone. But New York was her choice, and I can't do anything to change her mind, especially now. Still…I can't help but worry.

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_**So there was Morgan's chapter. Go ahead and review and tell me what you thought and pass it along to her. Then my chapter will follow as soon as I can get it up. Please review now!!! Thanks!!**_


	4. THREE

_**THREE**_

Twelve weeks. That's what the doctor told me when I finally went. I was twelve weeks, or three months pregnant when I found out. I was completely shocked, and I still am a little. I was shocked that I was pregnant and I was shocked I hadn't figured it out sooner. How had I missed it for so long? I have no clue. Maybe I just wasn't looking for it, but…is anyone my age? I'm just slow I guess, and I never see the signs for anything. But it doesn't matter now anyway. What matters is I am pregnant.

I'm about sixteen weeks along now, and I have a doctor's appointment next week. The past month, I have sort of just been accepting the pregnancy and deciding what I'm going to do. I did consider an abortion, but I pushed the idea away almost as soon as it came to me. I don't want to be alone in this, I don't want to be a single mother, but I could never kill my child either. I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to do it, but I am going to do it. I'm going to have this baby. I'm going to carry it, and give birth to it, and raise it…all by myself.

So what about the father? I haven't really decided for sure yet whether to tell him or not. But I've debated it often already with Haley. The first time we discussed it was after I found out, about a week after I moved here…

"_Whoa…you're pregnant?" Haley asked me through the phone. I'd called her two days after taking the home tests, and right after the doctor's appointment._

"_Yep," I said. "Twelve weeks, according to the doctor."_

"_Twelve weeks? Brooke, how did you—"_

"_Not know? I have no clue, Haley. But you don't have to freak out. I'm already doing that enough for myself."_

"_Okay, I'm sorry." I heard her sigh." Are you okay?"_

_Then, I started to cry again._

"_I'm so scared, Haley. I can't do this. I can't be a mom."_

"_Yes you can, sweetie. You can do it, I know you can. You are so strong, stronger than you know, and if you want to, you can do this. The only question is, do you want to do this?"_

_That's when I'd considered between abortion and parenthood. It did surprise me how quickly I'd responded._

"_Yeah…I do. I've always wanted a family. I just didn't think it would be coming so soon."_

"_Well, you'll be okay, better than okay. And you know, you won't be doing it alone. I'm going to be a first time mom in just a few months."_

"_Yeah, but at least you have Nathan. I don't have anyone."_

_I knew she'd hesitated before asking the next question. _

"_Brooke, is it—"_

"_Yes…it's Lucas's baby."_

"_Have you told him yet?"_

"_I just found out myself, Haley. You're the first person I've told."_

"_Are you going to tell him?"_

"_I don't know. And I know what you're going to say. I should tell him, he has a right to know, and you're probably right. But he also has a life now, a life that I am no longer a part of. And I don't want him to just make me a part of his life again just because I'm pregnant. It's not what I want and it wouldn't be fair to anyone, least of all this baby. I just…I need some time to think about it."_

"_Okay…I understand."_

"_You're not going to tell him are you?"_

"_It's not my news to tell. He is my best friend and brother-in-law, and I do think he should know, but you're my best friend too and you're the one who's pregnant. And I know how scared you are right now, so I'm going to stand by you on this one."_

"_Thank you," I whispered. "I really need someone standing by me."_

"_I know. And I'll always be here for you if you need me. Call me soon, okay?"_

"_I will."_

I'd told her I needed time to think about it, to think about what I was going to do, if I was going to tell Lucas about the baby. I know I probably should, but I'm afraid to tell him. I want to tell him, I want to tell him so badly, but I can't. As I'd told Haley, he has a life now…with Peyton. He's happy and I don't want to interrupt his happiness. Besides…as much as I love him and miss him and want him back, I don't want him coming back to me just because I'm pregnant.

That's why I've come to the decision that I have. I love Lucas and I always will, as I told him in the letter I wrote him when I left. There's no point in me trying to deny to myself my love for him. But he loves Peyton. He always has in some way or another, even when he was with me, loved her. She is the one he wants to be with, and as long as I don't get in the way anymore, they will be together. So I've decided…I'm not going to tell him.

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_**Okay…there was my chapter. Go ahead and tell me what you think. Another Lucas chapter will follow this, probably with some Leyton in it (like I said in the intro…we gotta tell a little Leyton story to show you how we get to the brucas story, right?) LOL anyway, as soon as I get that from morgan, I will post it. So while you wait, please review!!! Thanks.**_


	5. FOUR

_**FOUR**_

"You're thinking about Brooke again, aren't you?" I asked Peyton as I held her hand over the kitchen table. "How she left?"

Peyton nodded somberly. "I miss her. I know she was angry with me, but I never thought she would leave without saying goodbye at the very least. She's been gone a month, but it still gets to me sometimes."

"I know it does." I lifted her chin in my hands. "But things will get better. She won't hate you forever. Come on now…don't go all sad punk on me again."

That brought a smile to her face.

"Awe…there we go." I squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, it's just been really weird not having someone to talk to like she and I used to."

"Wait, what about me?"

Peyton let out a small laugh. "I know you're here, but I need someone I can talk to about you too."

"Great," I said flatly, this time getting a louder, more enthusiastic laugh from her. "How about if I be your best friend? We can talk about anything you want, even me."

"I think that's great."

"All right then. What do you want to talk about?" I patted my lap, motioning for her to come sit with me.

"Hmm…why don't we go back to those daydreams that we were talking about earlier?" She suggested with a sneaky, suspicious and seducing smile.

"Well, why not?" I returned the grin. Peyton finally sat down in my lap. She leaned in to kiss me and I openly took the chance. After we pulled away, I started to talk again.

"I'll always be here for you, Peyton. You know that right?"

"Of course," she answered.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure. I'll always be here to take care of anything you need. I just want you to feel safe, even though Brooke's gone and your dad is away and—"

"I know, Luke. I promise, I know. You're always there for me, and you always have been. I trust you with my life, and with my heart." I smiled.

"Well, you must think as much of me as I think of you."

"I love you," she said without hesitation.

"I love you too."

"Well," Peyton continued after a minute or so. "It's been said that love conquers all. What do you think about that?"

She rested her head on my chest and I considered before I responded.

"I think that we conquer anything we put our minds to. I mean deaths, marriage, injury…you can't go through much more pain than that. We've always gotten through it in the end."

Peyton nodded in agreement.

"I know this isn't really something I should worry about considering I'm not really her friend anymore, but…do you think Brooke will find love again?"

I was confused where that thought had come from, but I knew Brooke was still an important part of Peyton's life, and she would always be concerned for her.

"I just hope she can find someone who'll love her and protect her like you do for me."

I was still in thought about the subject of Brooke and her finding someone else. I don't know why, but I felt kind of conflicted then in my answer.

"Brooke's a loveable person with a big heart. I'm sure she'll find someone to love her and keep her safe."

Peyton, satisfied with my answer, laid her head on my shoulder.

"Thanks for keeping me safe," she whispered.

"Always."

_**Sorry for the short chapter…some of these chapters are hard to come up with stuff more. Luckily, my chapter is finished, so it's like combining this chapter with mine to make a nicely sized chapter. LOL. Go ahead and review. Thanks.**_


	6. FIVE

_**FIVE**_

So another doctor's appointment came, my second one. The first appointment was basically to confirm the pregnancy. Today would be more like an actual check up. Today, the doctor was going to do a sonogram, ultrasound or whatever it's called, as well as determine my due date, and, if I wanted to know, the baby's sex.

I sat in the waiting room for about ten minutes before the nurse finally brought me back to the exam room. Then, she told me to undress, put on the gown (an ugly and very thin gown at that), and have a seat on the table and the doctor would be in in a few minutes. Great, I thought, more waiting.

I don't know why I was so anxious exactly. I think, maybe, it's because being back in that room made the pregnancy even more real. In just a few minutes, I would see and hear the baby, know when it was coming, and it would all be so real, more real than it had ever been before. Everything would change after that, and that is what scared me.

"Good morning, Brooke." Doctor Rooker entered the room. Her unannounced entrance made me jump.

"'Morning," I replied with a smile.

"How're you feeling?"

"Nervous," I answered through a sigh.

"Well, you have nothing to be nervous about. "You're young and healthy."

I watched as she set my chart down on the counter and I reply, "Right, but I'm also 18 and pregnant."

Doctor Rooker smiled as she snapped on her gloves. She wheeled a stool over to me, on the table near the sonogram machine, and she said, "Well, maybe the sonogram will make you feel a little more confident."

I lay back on the table as she instructed and waited as she pulled the machine closer.

"No, this'll be a little cold," she said before squeezing gel onto my exposed abdomen. She was right...it was cold, cold enough to make me shiver a little.

"Okay, now let's take a look here."

I watched the screen, still anxiously, as doctor Rooker moved the paddle along the lower part of my abdomen where she'd squeezed on the gel. All I saw for the first few minutes was just black and white fuzz, like the screen of a television almost when the cable goes out. And then the picture began to change, as did the silence of the room.

I'd been so apprehensive about this pregnancy until that point, the point when I first saw my baby on screen for the first time, It's so hard to explain and even to understand, but it's like actually seeing what's happening inside me and hearing that little heartbeat took away all my fears. Okay...not all my fears, but most of them anyway.

I'm still scared though, scared of all the changes I'm going to have to face, and scared that I might not be able to handle the mom part. But I'm not afraid of being alone anymore because I know I'm not. I'll never be alone again.

I feel more connected to this baby now. Ever since that day, I am connected to this baby, and this baby is connected to me. This baby is growing inside me, and it is an amazing feeling to me now. It's amazing that there is life inside me, a life that is counting on me for protection and love and nourishment for the next six months. For the first time ever in my life, someone else needs me. Wow...I never thought that would ever happen. But it is happening, and I could seriously not be happier.

It's obvious I'm much more confident now then I was a month, or even an hour ago. I'm much more confident about everything now, from the moment I heard that heartbeat and saw my little angel on the screen. That's what this baby is to me now...an angel straight from heaven. I thank god for this pregnancy now. It really has brought me so much faith and trust in life, not only my life, but the life of my daughter. Oh yeah...it's a girl.

_**  
Okay, so that's all we got right now. I've got some plans, but it might take a little bit to develop them. But I will update ASAP. Please review now, thanks!!!**_


	7. SIX

**_sorry it took so long for this guys. it's been busy over here LOL it won't be too long before my chapter. its finished, i jsut gotta type it. enjoy this til then and please review._**

**_SIX_**

After that conversation with Peyton, I thought a lot about everything. I thought about how happy I felt with Peyton, but also how I wanted to be there for Brooke. It wasn't just that I wanted to be there for her, I realized, but a part of me felt like I should be with her. For some reason, I suddenly felt like I had abandoned her, like I had just left her out in the cold to fend for herself. But I knew there was nothing I could do now.

I cared a lot about Brooke, but I was in love with Peyton. My heart had already made up its mind. Still, my own mind couldn't move away from the fact that Brooke was alone in New York City. And that worried me because Brooke hated to be alone. I always knew that about her.

Peyton had asked me if I thought Brooke would ever find love again. That question sat in my mind for days and days. I knew she deserved someone who would treat her like she deserved to be treated, someone who would treat her better than her parents and I had treated her. She'd had her heart broken too many times by almost everyone she ever knew, and she needed someone to mend her broken heart and keep it from ever breaking again. Sometimes though…I couldn't stop myself from thinking I should have been that someone for her.

I really needed to stop thinking about Brooke so much, especially since Peyton was my girlfriend now. I still missed my relationship with Brooke, as rocky as it had been, but I needed to let it go. Brooke obviously didn't want me in her life anymore and besides that, I was with Peyton. I needed to focus on her and our relationship.

I smiled when my thoughts finally came 'round Peyton again. She was so incredibly beautiful and she made me so happy. The moment she walked into any room, she lifted all my spirit. We understood each other on a level that most others don't. We both loved music and were kind of deep in philosophy and stuff. We both knew pain better than anyone (except maybe Brooke) and we both were extremely broody. _Broody…_that's what Brooke always used to--no! I seriously needed to stop thinking about her. So why couldn't I?

Peyton missed Brooke too, I knew. We talked about her almost everyday. That is, Peyton would talk about her and I would just kind of nod my head and act like I wasn't thinking about the exact same thing, like I didn't care. Except that I did care…a lot. I just didn't want Brooke to be lonely, like a part of me felt like she was. Or maybe…a part of me, as cruel and selfish and wrong as it sounds, _hoped _she was.

It's not like I was hoping Brooke would be lonely forever. But for some reason unknown to me then, it was like I just wasn't ready to hear that she might be happy and not so lonely with someone else, even though I was with someone else myself. I didn't know why I kept feeling like that. Maybe, I told myself time and time again, it was just because I missed her. And maybe…there were still some lingering feelings.

But of course there were still some feelings….Brooke was my first love, my first…everything. How could there not still be feelings there? But I was with Peyton now. I loved her, Peyton that it, and I couldn't imagine my life without her. Yet…I wasn't very much liking my life without Brooke either. So it all came down to the same question: Was I in love with Peyton?

I asked myself that over and over again whenever my thoughts did linger around Brooke (which I found becoming routine). But I never really could figure it out until someone else asked me the same thing outloud. It wasn't until then that I actually really thought about it.


	8. SEVEN

**_SEVEN_**

Things really started to look up for me after that last doctor appointment. I wasn't so afraid to be alone in New York anymore, or alone at all really because I knew that in six months, around January sixth, I would have my little girl. Little did I know, companionship and that feeling of love would come a lot sooner than I expected.

It was almost two weeks after that last appointment that we ran into each other…literally. Before heading out to start my shopping spree for baby things with the money my parents had sent me (that was something else I'd still needed to do…tell my parents(, I'd decided to get something to eat at _London's _(the café below my apartment building).

"Here you go m'am," the cashier said, holding out a white paper bag and Styrofoam cup after I'd paid. "Two blueberry muffins and a raspberry ice tea."

"Thank you." I said as I took the bag and cup. I must have been pretty hungry or something because I wasn't paying any attention and I bumped right into another.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" was my immediate response."

"It's okay," he said through a chuckle. His voice sounded strangely familiar and when I saw his face, I knew why.

"Chase…" I smiled at the sight of him.

"Hey Brooke," he said with that cute dimpled smile I remembered and loved so much. "Long time, no see."

"Yeah…I mean not that long. It's only been a couple of months."

"Long enough," Chase said. "Now I know where you disappeared to after graduation."

"I didn't disappear," I defended as we moved over to a table. "I told you I was leaving early."

He laughed again as we sat down. "I know. I'm just messing with you, Brooke."

I smiled and we got caught up in each other's gaze, like we had back in Tree Hill when he came to town. Chase had been the first guy I'd ever gotten feelings for after Lucas, and as I stared at him I realized those feelings were still there.

"So what brings you to New York anyway?" I wondered.

Still smiling, he answered with, "Actually, I transferred to NYU, much better university than back in California, at least that's what I told my parents. But, I um…I actually came looking for you."

"What?"

That sure took me by surprise. I couldn't believe what i was hearing. Chase Adams had come to New York looking for me? Why? We had agreed right before graduation that it woudl be better to end thnigs then, sicne i was moving to New York and him, abck to California. And now he was telling me that he had moved to New York...looking for me.  
"I haven't been able to stop thinknig about you sicne you left. Those first two months together were going really well for us and i think we gave up before we gave us a chance."  
"Chase..." I could tell where he was going with the conversation and i felt i needed to stop him before he did, but he wouldn't let me.  
"Wait, let me finish okay? I really like you, Brooke. And I really couldn't keep going on with college and life until I at least told you how i felt because i never really got the chance."  
When he paused, I knew it was finally my chance to get in what i needed to say. Yet, I had no idea where to begin. So i just went with it.  
"I like you too Chase," I started. "I really do, and you know i do. But um...things are different in my life now, or they will be different and--"  
"Different?" He looked at me confused. "Different how? Is there someone else?"  
I smiled and moved my hand over my belly under the table and i said, "Actually, there is, but not in the way you're probably thinking."  
He still looked puzzled so I made it clearer. "I'm pregnant."  
That definitely took him by surprise. I could tell by the expression on his face and when he'd responded with "Oh."  
I chuckled. "Now you know what i mean by somenone else?"  
He smiled. "Yeah."  
Then, he paused again staring at my face again. "But I don't see why that has to affect us."  
Now I was confused. Wasn't he supposed to be running as far away from me as he could get?  
"Come on," I said. "You don't want to be with me. I'm gonna get fat, fatter than i already am. And then when I'm at my fattest, I'm gonna have a baby. and then I'm gonna be a mom...for the rest of my life. You're not ready for that kind of responsibilily yet."  
"Why says? Maybe I am, or maybe i will be. Maybe i want it if it means i get to have it with you."  
"Chase...I can't. Just because I'm having a baby doesn't mean you have to."  
"I know." He moved his hand over mine. "But I want to be with you. I want to give us the chance we didn't have time for. Please Brooke...will you please take a chance on me again?"  
I knew that i shouldn't, but on the other hand, I wasn't so sure. I was having a baby, which meant I didn't really have the luxury to date anymore. But I also still had feelings for him ,I could feel it. And I was still kind of lonely, the kind of lonely i didn't want to be, the kind I'd always hated. And Chase was right there, offering to make that loneliness disappear.  
"We can start where we left off," he pushed. "Have some fun, study, be together, do whatever. I'll be good to you, Brooke. I'll take care of you if you'll let me."  
The pregnancy hormones already running wild, tears filled my eyes. I squeezed his hand and said, "Okay."  
Then he came over and kissed me, and, going with the hormones and what i was feeling at that moment, I gave in to the kiss. It was amazing, as well as relieving. I no longer felt lonely in the big city.

_**Okay…so there's Chapter 7. You guys will probably wonder why I brought Chase into the story if this is supposed to be a Brucas right? Well, let me tell you he will not be in for long. I brought him in because Lucas has Peyton and being with Peyton but still missing Brooke is what is going to help Lucas figure out his true feelings, so I needed something to help Brooke as well. You've already sort of got a hint of how Brooke is feeling about Lucas, but I kind of wanted to chow a little conflict for her as well, and I don't know know how well I'm doing that, but that's what I'm trying to do. Chase is going to help her figure out how she really feels about everything, herself and Lucas. So that's really the point of Chase…He's going to become Brooke's shoulder to lean on in New York. I wanted to bring in a friend available to Brooke, and it was between him and Rachel, and I chose Chase because I wanted to do a little bit of romance with him. Anyway, you'll see where I'm going with this storyline soon I hope. I hope this isn't too confusing. Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. Chapter 8 should be coming up this weekend. -Maureen**_


	9. EIGHT

**_EIGHT_**

Nathan was the one who got me thinking about my feelings again. It was kind of strange because I was always the one advising him, getting him to think about Haley, basketball and other stuff. And then he switched roles on me one afternoon while we were at the River Court.

"How's Haley doing?" I asked as I bounced the ball to Nathan after missing a basket.

"She's great," he replied. "She's really anxious about the baby though. I am too. We've got everything ready for him and now he just needs to come out and meet us."

I smiled back at him. I could tell he was finally happier than he had ever been, or at least he would be once he finally got to hold his son.

"I'm happy for you, Nate," I said. "And I'm excited too, I think I'm going to make a pretty cool uncle."

Nathan laughed as he forced the ball into the air right into the basket. He let the ball bounce away into the grass and joined me on the picnic table top.

"So how are things with Peyton?" He asked before chugging down water.

"Oh, things are good," I answered with half a smile.

"You don't sound too convincing."

"Things are great with Peyton and me. It's just…I've just been thinking about Brooke a lot lately, even though I probably shouldn't be. But I can't help worrying about her. Haley hasn't talked to her recently has she?"

"Probably," Nathan answered. He sounded kind of nervous for some reason, like he knew something I didn't, but I didn't press him on it. I figured he was just concentrating on getting the ball in the hoop again.

"She and Brooke are like closer than sisters," Nathan went on. Then, he turned and looked at me. "I take it you and Brooke aren't keeping in touch?"

I shook my head. "No…I haven't heard from her once since she left."

"Does that bother you?"

I didn't answer right away. I was trying to decide for myself if it did or not. But I didn't really need to think about it long. The answer was obvious from how much I'd been thinking about it..

"Yeah…it does," I answered, looking back at him. "I know that it probably shouldn't because I'm with Peyton now, but…Brooke was still a good friend, you know? She was more than that. She was the first girl I ever…well, everything with. And it's like now she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Well, maybe she just needs some time, Luke."

"Or maybe she does never want to see me again. It would explain a lot, like why she left for New York so soon and why she hasn't called or written me."

Nathan sat down next to me again. He sighed as he set the ball down in between his feet. He looked at me and asked, "Luke…are you still in love with Brooke?"

"What?" I responded immediately. "No…I'm with Peyton, Nathan. Why would you even ask me that?"

"I'm sorry. It just seems like you're spending an awful lot of time thinking about Brooke when you claim to love Peyton."

"I do love Peyton, Nathan. I love her with all my heart. That's why I'm with her. I just…I miss Brooke. I miss having her around. That's all me thinking about her is…missing her."

Nathan nodded. "Okay…then can I ask you one more question?"

"If you must."

He paused and stared at me a minute before he asked, like he was trying to read the answer in my expression before he even asked it.

"You said you love Peyton," he finally spoke. "Yet, you keep thinking about Brooke because you miss her. So it just kind of makes me wonder…are you _in love _with Peyton? Or do you just love her?"

When he asked me that, I couldn't even come up with an answer. All I could do was stare back at him, wondering the same thing myself. _Of course I'm in love with Peyton, _I tried convincing myself again. _That's why I'm with her…isn't it?_

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_**Hey everyone….sorry it's been so long for this story too. School and college apps and scholarship apps have jkept me so so busy. I finally got a little time to write though, so I'm using it to update. Please review. I'm going to try and get my next chapter up this weekend too, possibly tonight. Thanks for the patience. Please review.**_


	10. NINE

**_NINE_**

The next few weeks with Chase were so amazing. Every Saturday night he would take me out to dinner and a movie, and some other nights he would come over to my apartment and we'd hang out and most often cuddle on the couch watching television until we fell asleep. He really made me feel special the way he spoke to me, smiled at me and surprised me at work, school and even home with flowers or lunch. What really amazed me though, was how cool he was about the whole baby thing.

The baby I was carrying wasn't his, yet he acted as if she were. He listened to me when I talked about her, or read something from What to Expect When You're Expecting, (the only book I've ever really been into), and he comforted me when my hormones got the better of me and I started crying at the littlest, most often stupdiest things. He helped me start work on the nursery, and he even offered to be my Lamaze coach. Amazing…

I really couldn't believe how amazing he was, or how happy I'd become. I felt myself falling more and more for him everyday, and I could tell he was falling too. I was loving where the relationship was going, and that I'd finally found someone I had feelings for who had feelings for me too.

Yet, as much as I felt for him and enjoyed my time with him, there were still moments I wasn't with Chase that I found myself thinking about Lucas and even longing for him at some times. It confused me when I did think or feel for him again because I was sure that I didn't feel for him anymore. But, as I soon came to realize, those feelings I'd had for Lucas didn't just disappear over night. In fact, they hadn't disappeared at all. I'd just been hiding and trying to push them away to avoid hurting and missing him so much, as Haley had helped me realize.

"It has been so crazy up here, Haley, you have no idea."

I smiled as I watched Chase sit down next to me on the couch as I talked with Haley on the phone. I giggled and bit my lip as he kissed my neck.

"Wow…" Haley said on the other end. "It does sound crazy up there. Tell Chase I said hi."

I touched his face and pushed him away. "Haley says hi. Now can you quit for a few minutes so I can talk to her?"

"No way," he said, resisting the force of my hand and kissing me again.

"Chase…"

"Okay," he finally caved. "I've got class anyway. I'll see you tonight?"

He kissed me cheek again and touched my stomach before leaving with his backpack/

"Sorry," I said into the phone.

"It's okay," Haley said. "You sound happy, Brooke."

"I am." I said, pulling myself up from the couch. I made my way over to the counter as I continued. "Chase is just so sweet and so amazing. He takes me out, cuddles with me, helps me study, and he's helping me with the nursery. Oh, I totally forgot to tell you about the nursery!"

Haley laughed at her end. "Okay…tell me about the nursery."

"Well, we're painting the walls pink obviously, but I found the most adorable border. It's a lighter shade of pink with cute little teddy bears. It's all just so cute. I can't wait for you to see it, Hales.."

"I can't wait either. You'll love what Nathan and I have done with our nursery too."

"Oh, you have it finished finally?"

"Yep, right in time too. Little Keith is due in two weeks."

"Wow…I can't believe it's tiem already. Time really does fly, doesn't it?"

"It sure does. So, um…speaking of my little bundle of joy…you made me a promise before you left. You promised you'd be here when he's born, so are you still going to be able to make it back here in time?"

I grew silent then, feeling like such an awful friend for promising her that then, and turning back on the promise now.

"Actually, Hales," I said sullenly, "I don't think I am going to be able to make it back."

"Brooke, you--"

"I know, I know , I promised you I'd come to be there for you, but I didn't know I was pregnant when I made that promise. And I want to be there, I really do. You know I want to be there to see my godson be born, but things are just really complicated right now. I have school and work, and it's probably not a good idea for me to travel right now. Plus, I'm showing quite a bit already and--"

"Lucas." Haley said blankly.

There was no point in me trying to deny what she was getting at. She knew me probably better than anyone and she was right…Lucas was my biggest reason for breaking my promise to her. I sighed and tried to explain.

"I'm sorry, Haleys, okay? It's like I said, I've got a pretty good baby bump now and I am not ready for him to find out about this baby. And if I come back now , he will and I don't think I could deal with that right now. I promise I'll make it up to you and little Keith. I'll spoil the kid rotten. Hell, I'll spoil you rotten next time I see you if you'll just forgive me this."

I didn't hear here respond right away, but when she did, she said, "I'll tell you what…I'll forgive you right now if you admit to me out loud that the real reason you aren't ready to come home and face Lucas is because you still have feelings for him."

My jaw hung open. I didn't know what to say, how to respond. And I didn't know how to respond then because deep down I knew she had the nail right on the head. I knew she was right, but I'd still tried to deny it anyway.

"Haley…that's not true. I don't have feelings for Lucas anymore. I have feelings for Chase."

"Yes, I know that. I know you do have feelings for Chase, but I also know that you do still have feelings for Lucas, and that your feelings for Lucas right now are much stronger and deeper than your feelings for Chase."

I didn't try arguing when she stopped. I just let her go on and analyze my feelings since I had obviously been trying to avoid doing it myself.

"You can't deny it, Brooke. You are carrying his child. There's no way you couldn't have feelings for Lucas. I know you're still in love with him. It's obvious by the way you try to avoid talking about him, or how quickly you change the subject when the conversation does turn to him. And it's why you're afraid to have him find out you're pregnant."

"No…I don't want him to find out because I don't want him to change his whole life because of it."

"Right, because you know that if he does find out, he will want to be there for you and his baby. He would change his life to be there, but you don't want him to because you're afraid he'll resent you one day for letting hi mdo that. Mostly though, you're afraid that he would be around and love the baby, but never love you again, even though I know that would never happen."

Wow…I thought. She was exactly right on everything. She did know me better than anyone. My cheeks soaked from my tears, I looked down, touched my stomach and finally I said, "Okay…I admit iT. You're right…about everything. So what do I do now?"

"Whatever you think you should, sweetie. Do what you want, what your heart wants. But whatever you do, whoever you choose…make sure he is the one for you. I was just trying to help you see what you've been hiding from."

"You're right, Haley. I have been hiding, but only because I don't want to feel for Lucas like that anymore, not when his heart isn't in the same place anymore. I'm trying to move on."

"That's god, Brooke. I'm proud of you for that. I'm glad you're not giving up. Follow your heart, but follow it carefully. I know you've been hurt in the past, but don't let that stop you from loving again."

She paused again and I took in everything she'd said.

"I understand it's a really confusing and hard time for you to come back to Tree Hill now, so I won't hold it against you. You take whatever time you need to sort everything out and then you come back when you're ready. I'll be here."

"Thanks, Haley."

"Always…I just hope you come back before little Keith turns eighteen."

I laughed. "I will, I promise. That you can hold me to. I love you, Hales…like the sister I never had."

"I love you too, Brooke. You are my sister."

_**so there's my chapter. coming up...the true feelings Lucas has is going to catch up to him fast, as well as for Brooke. Time will start to move a little bit quicker, and soon (not very soon) but soon...the events from the orginal Boomerangs will start to come into play with a few alterations. so keep that in mind and please review this!!!**_


	11. TEN

**_okay...finally, got another chapter for this too. let me know what you think and i should have the next Brooke chapter up this week. please review. _**

**_TEN _**

That conversation with Nathan seriously got me thinking about everything again, everything with Peyton and everything with Brooke. I cared about them both so much and i realized, after that conversation with my brother, that i did still have feelings for Brooke.  
But i knew i still had feelings for Peyton. I was still convinced that i was in love with Peyton, not Brooke. I mean how could i deny it? She was so incredible and i loved spending time with her. And when i wasn't with her, she was still there in my head. But Brooke was there too...almost as often as i was thinking about Peyton. and what confused me...Brooke was sometimes in my dreams more than Peyton.  
As much as i tried to, I couldn't get Brooke out of my head. I missed her so much and it felt so strange not having her in my life. Sometimes i remember, it even felt like i was missing out on a lot by not being with her or around her. i just wanted to see her again or talk to her, just have some contact with her. I didn't want either of us to forget about our friendship, yet for some reason, she did.  
After talking to Nathan, I pulled that letter back out from Brooke, the one she wrote me as her goodbye. Even though that letter was her goodbye and her way to get closure, I still kept it. And now, after months of her being gone, I had pulled it back out again. I read it over and over again trying to figure out the answer to Nathan's question and my own: Was I still in love with Brooke?  
I just misssed her, i still told myself everytime i looked at that letter and put it away again. And i missed her so much because I hadn't gone that long without talking to her since before i knew her. Once i had gotten to know Brooke, i mean really gotten to know her, I knew i could never keep her out of my life, nor did i want to. and i had to tell her that, I decided. She needed to know I still cared very much for her, for our friendship, even if she didn't want me to.  
So i decided to write her a letter. I figured it was the best way to contact her and tell her everything i was thinking and feeling without requiring her to say anything back right away (even thougjh i hoped she would write me back). But i would write to her anyway. At least that way she would knowi stil lcared in case she didn't/ and plus...maybe I could finally clear my concious and get back to me and Peyton.  
After many, many drafts (I wasn't sure why it was so hard for me to come up with what i wanted to say exactly, but it was) i finally got that letter finished:  
**_Brooke,  
I know you didn't want me to contact you, that you wanted to give us some time to move on with our lives, but it has been really hard for me to forget about you like you asked me to. It's been hard because , well...I don't want to forget about you, or us for that matter.  
I have to be honest, Brooke...it really hurt me reading that letter. It hurt reading that you wanted to just forget about us, and for me to forget about us. How could you ask me to do that, Brooke? How could you ask me to forget about everything that happened between us? Is that really what you wanted? Because it sure as hell isn't what i wanted, nor what i would ever want, not in a million years.  
What you and i had was so special, Brooke. I know we did have our problem and a lot of bumps in the road, a lot of mistakes, but that doesn't make the good times we ha any less special. And I wouldn't trade any of the good or bad times with you for anything, nor will i ever forget them.  
We may not be together anymore, Brooke, but I hope we can still be friends. And i hope it's been enough time that you can let me be your friend again. I don't know if you do, but I really miss our friendship, Brooke. And even if you still want to forget it and everything else between us, always know that i never wil. You mean too much to me to forget.  
I'm not expecting you to send a letter back t ome, though i hope you will because maybe that will be hope for our friendship. But if you don't want respond to this, i will know you're not ready to be friends again/. But no matter if you're not ready for me to be your friend, you will still always be mine. Nothing will ever change that. That;s a promise, Brooke.  
Always,  
Lucas_**

_**  
P.S. In case the above didn't convince you of how special you are to me, maybe this will:**_

_**If there is ever a tomorrow when we're not together, there is something you must always remember. Even if we're apart...I will always be with you. **_

So that was it. I read my letter over a few times to make sure it said everything i wanted it too without revealing too much to get me into trouble with Peyton. Actually, i wasn't sure how Peyton would feel about me writing Brooke, but it didn't really matter to me then. I just really needed Brooke to know how i felt about us. So I'd sorted out my feelings (to myself only really) and got them down in a letter. All i had to do next was send it. But to do that, i needed the new address of Brooke in New York. And Haley was the only one i knew for sure would have the information.


	12. Message to the Readers

-1**MAJOR NOTE!!!!**

**I am so sosososososossosos sorry it has been like FOREVER since I've updated any of my stories here!! I just wanted to let you all know that it has been due to school. I am a Senior in my final semester of school, with only TWO months left until graduation, so as you can probably tell by that I have been EXTREMELY busy with schoolwork, particularly in English. I have had one project and paper on top of another and it has left me with absolutely no spare time to write on top of my 3 other classes. Seeing as I am an honor student, I have been studying hard.**

**But now that my big paper is done and out of the way, I will finally have some more time to get back to my writing, though updates will still be coming slowly probably. Thankfully spring break starts for me this Friday. I do have a couple of projects to complete over the break, but no major papers so I'm hoping to have a couple of days at least where I can just write and write. So please be patient with me for a little while longer and I promise to deliver incredible updates when I get them all written. Thanks so much for your patience thus far.**

**--Maureen**


	13. ELEVEN

_**Wow! Okay, so it's been like forever since i updated this! I am so sorry! School seriously kept me so busy i had like no extra time to write. Thankfully, i am just about finished with my last major English paper and Chemistry II from now on is strictly in class work. So now i have so much more time to write!!! And i am starting with proividing another chapter here, a chapter i hope you all enjoy. So please let me know what you think after you read. Thanks!**_

_** Maureen**_

_**ELEVEN**_

After that conversation with Haley, I spent the rest of the day thinking about everything. Actually, I spent like the next week and a half thinking about my feelings...for both Lucas and Chase.

When Chase came back to my apartment that night, I pretended I'd fallen asleep so I wouldn't have to talk to him about it. For the rest of the week then, I still tried to convince myself that my feelings for Chase were stronger, or could be stronger than the feelings I still had for Lucas. But the more I tried to prove it to myself, the more Chase began to see that something had changed between us.

"I know something's bothering you, Brooke," Chase said when he sat me down in my living room a couple weeks after the conversation with Haley. "You've been kind of distant lately."

"I'm sorry," I said taking his hand when he offered it. "I've just been thinking about some stuff lately."

"Like what?"

I stared back into those beautiful brown concerned eyes of his and tears began to well up in mine as I answered him in almost a whisper.

"I don't...I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you."

He knew then what was going on with me, but he tried to help me talk about it anyway.

"Brooke...you can tell me whatever it is. You're not going to hurt me, okay? I promise. I know you're not that kind of girl. But you need to talk about it. Keeping it inside isn't good for you, and the stress isn't good for the baby. I'm right here listening. So talk to me...please?"

I nodded and I finally told him about my talk with Haley. I told him about how she had helped me realize that I didn't and couldn't just push old feelings away overnight like I'd obviously tried to do.

"I wish I could, Chase," I said through my sobs as I wiped another tear from my face. "I really wish I could just make those feelings for Lucas go away because I care about you so much, but..."

"But...you love Lucas."

He'd sounded so hurt and I hated myself for leading him on and hurting hi, even though it was never my intention.

"I'm so sorry," I said in a whisper again.

"It's okay," Chase said after a few seconds. "You heart wants what it wants, feels what it feels. You don't really have any control over it, and I understand that. We gave us a chance and that's all I asked for. Thank you for that, Brooke. Thank you for giving back to me the faith in love that I'd thought I'd lost forever."

I smiled, but the tears were still falling, so Chase pulled me closer and held me near him a good few minutes.

"I'm going to go, okay?" He said when he pulled away.

I nodded as I sniffled and wiped my cheeks. He stood up from the couch and walked toward the door. But as he turned the knob, I lost it again.

"Chase," I said and he turned and stared at me.

I felt the tears come faster and I said softly, "I don't want to be alone."

"Oh Brooke, no..." he said as he rushed back over to me. He pulled me close again. "Shh...it's okay. You're not going to be alone, not ever. You will be okay. _We _will be okay."

"We will?"

"Of course." He pulled away again. "We will always be friends. I wouldn't give up our friendship for the world. You're too wonderful a person. I'm still going to be in the apartment downstairs and I'm still going to come up and visit. You will never be alone, okay?"

I smiled and hugged him again. "Thank you."

"Thank you...for letting me in."

We held our embrace until it was interrupted by the strangest and most amazing feeling I had ever felt in my life.

"Oh!" was my response to it and I pulled away from Chase quickly.

"What?"

I laid my hands over my swollen stomach and said, "The baby...she kicked."

Chase smiled. I moved his hand to my belly so he could feel too.

"Wow..." was his reaction.

"It's so amazing."

"Totally." Chase looked up at me again with another one of those amazing smiles. "See, I told you...you will never, ever be alone."

Hearing him say that and feeling my little girl kick for the first time brought some comfort to me. If only for that brief moment in time...

_**Okay...so you know what's nect. Go review!! Please please!! And I'm still waiting for my co author on the next chapter, but i think I might post my idea for the next chapter and hope we have it along the same line, which I'm sure we will because we've been discussing it for some time. So if i get some more time this weekend, I'll try and post that. But i do have just one more short paper to finish before Monday morning and i need to start writing another chapter for What Life is This. Anyway, review for now and I'll try to get another chapter up ASAP. **_

_** Maureen**_


	14. TWELVE

_**Okay guys, finally got another chapter ready, and my Brooke chapter should follow this. This chapter though took a lot of rewriting and editing by morgan and myself. So please let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy!!!**_

_**TWELVE**_

So I had to wait a little while before I could send that letter. Shortly after finishing it, I got a call from Nathan telling me he was on his way to the hospital with Haley. I left right away to meet them and Peyton at the hospital.

My nephew, Keith Alan Scott, was born September 16, 2007 at 6:45 in the morning. At seven pounds, eight ounces, 21 inches long, he was the most beautiful baby boy ever born. And every nurse in the nursery agreed he was the spitting image of his father, with the tiny exception that his hair was not as dark as Nathan's. But even that was barely noticeable compared to his other features.

Meeting my nephew had really got me anticipating the impending birth of my new brother or sister as well. I found myself becoming even more anxious to see if I would be a big brother to another little brother, or if I'd finally get the little sister I'd always thought it would be cool to have. I would only have to wait a few more weeks. So to pass the time, I spent time helping Nathan and Haley out with little Keith.

"Say cheese!" Peyton clicked the button on Haley's digital camera capturing a picture of Nathan and Haley together, Keith in Haley's arms.

"Um...I don't think he's quite ready to say cheese yet," Haley said as she smiled down at her son.

"Maybe not," Nathan agreed ,taking the camera from Peyton and setting it on the counter. "But he can smile. Look..."

"Awe..." Peyton said as she and I watched with our own smiles.

"That's so cute."

"Yeah, it is," Haley said. "Except I think it was more gas than smiling."

"Well, I guess he really is like Nathan after all," I joked.

We laughed and Haley turned to Nathan. I watched as they admired their son together. I knew since the day I'd met Haley that she would make a great mother and now it really proved true. Baby Keith fit perfectly in her arms, and the smile on hers, and Nathan's face, seemed like it would never fade. Nathan's grin grew even wider as he ran his hand over his son's fuzzy dark hair.

"Hey Luke, you want you hold him?" Haley's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Uh..." I suddenly grew very nervous then, just at the thought of holding an actual human being who was as little and fragile as Keith.

"Oh, come on, Luke," Haley pressed. "He's not heavy at all and he's so warm."

"Yeah, go on, babe," Peyton joined in. "You'll need the practice for when your new little sibling arrives."

Peyton and Haley's smile and the soft cooing from the baby finally convinced me. Nathan carried him over to me and laid him in my arms.

"Hey Keith," I said softly as I bounced him gently in my arms. He stared back at me with those deep brown eyes and squirmed in my arms. i laughed uneasily as I carried him back around the counter to Nathan and Haley. Once again, Haley's voice pulled me from my daze.

"Hey Luke...Nathan and I kind of had another reason for asking you guys over today. We wanted to ask you if you would mind if we made you Keith's god father?"

I looked down at Keith again and my heart seemed to melt in my chest.

"I would be honored," I answered.

"Thanks, man," Nathan said, gently slapping my shoulder.

"You'll make a great god father and uncle," Haley said. "Now give me back my baby."

Haley giggled, and Nathan, Peyton and I chuckled as I returned Keith to her arms.

"You're going to make a great dad, Nate," I said to him as Peyton and Haley joined together to admire Keith again.

"Thanks. And you'll make a great dad some day too."

"Thanks."

Nathan and I hugged and Haley said, "Uh...Dad? I think he's ready to be changed, and probably a nap too. You want to..."

"Oh yeah," Nathan said, jumping at the opportunity to hold his son again. I could tell he was really loving the whole dad thing already."

"Hey Peyton," he said as he took Keith from Haley. "You want to come help?"

Peyton scrunched her nose.

"Yeah...'cause dirty diapers are my idea of a good time?"

Nathan laughed. "I just thought you'd want to see how much he enjoys that new nursery you helped with."

Peyton threw her head back with a smile.

"Ugh...okay." She walked toward them, running her hand along my back as she went. "Here I am falling for another Scott boy. What is this power you all have over me, huh Keith?"

Haley chuckled as they left the room.

"So are you sending these pictures to anyone, or are they just for his baby book?" I asked Haley as she reviewed the pictures on her camera again.

"Both," she replied. Her thumb pressed on the arrow button. "My parents want some to show off to their friends and to my brothers and sisters. And I promised Brooke I'd send her some."

_Brooke. _There she was back on my mind all of a sudden, with just the mention of her name. Well, actually, in all honesty, she had never really left my mind, especially since I couldn't stop wondering what had kept her from coming home that week of Keith's birth.

"Oh yeah, Brooke..." I said, trying to make the mention of her as casual as I could. "You know, I've kind of been wondering why she hasn't come back to visit yet. Didn't you saw awhile ago that she promised she'd be back to visit when you had Keith?"

"Yeah..."I'd heard a hint of hesitation in her voice then, but I hadn't really pressed her on it because she kept talking. "She did, but um...she just couldn't get away like she thought she'd be able to."

I nodded, but I still felt the need to know more. I couldn't help myself. "She must be pretty busy up there then, huh?"

"That's what she tells me. But she is loving her school and work and everything up there."

"Wow, she's working too?"

"Yeah...in a little clothing boutique." Haley paused then for a second and stared at me with a look that sort of gave the impression she knew exactly why i was asking about her. "She's doing really good up there, Luke."

I nodded then. "I know. I mean I know from you how she is, but...I just would like to hear from her about how she's doing. We were just getting back to being friends before she left and now, well...it just sort of feels like she hates me again."

"No, Luke, she doesn't hate you. She's just really busy, so busy she's barely had time to call or write me back,. So maybe when she has more time, she'll write you too."

"Well, actually I've sort of already taken that initiative. I've been wondering how she is for awhile now, so I've written her a letter. The only problem is, she never left me an address or phone number in the letter she left me before she moved. So I was hoping you might be able to help me out with that."

"With what?" Haley asked and it seemed like she was nervous althought I wasn't sure why.

I smiled and said, "An address for her so I can send the letter I wrote her. You're the only one I know she's still keeping in contact with from Tree Hill. So do you think you can..."

She nodded slowly, but still looked a little unsure as she grabbed a notepad and pen from her desk. As she returned to the island counter to write, I smiled. I was finally going to get to contact Brooke, something I'd wanted to do ever since she left. But the excitement hadn't lasted as long as I'd expected and hoped it would. In fact, it lasted barely a minute.

"Luke," Haley said before her pen even hit the paper. "You know I love you and I will always be here to help you do anything, but...do you really think sending this letter o Brooke is such a good idea?"

I leaned against the counter. "It's just a letter, Hales. Why wouldn't it be a good idea?"

"Well, the most obvious reason being you're with Peyton now."

"Yes, I am. Does that mean I can't write to my _friend _Brooke?"

"Well, that depends."

"On what exactly?"

"On what your real reason is for writing her."

"Because I miss her, Hales," I said after only a few seconds. "I miss my good friend, Brooke, like I missed you when you were living in New York. It was fun being her friend. She was a really, really cool person to talk to and hang out with. And I just want her to know that she still means so much to me and that...well, I just want her to let me back in again. I want her to let me be her friend again."

"So...you're not still in love with her?"

"No," I answered a little too quickly. "I just want to talk to her. So will you please write down her address?"

"Yeah, I'll um...I'll write it down for you, Luke." Haley dragged her purple pen across the paper. She tore the paper from the pad and held it out for me as she stared with another concerned look. "But I still don't think you should send that letter."

"Why not, Haley?" I wondered, still confused as to what she was really trying to tell me, and also kind of frustrated she hadn't just told me what she was feeling right away. "Why are you so bothered by my sending this letter? Really, who is it going to hurt?"

She stared at me a moment before she answered. "You."

"Me? How could this letter possibly hurt me?"

"Because I don't think she'll write back."

"Well, that's okay. I'm not expecting her too. I just want her to know that I'm still her friend when she's ready to let me back in as such."

"And what if she's never ready to let you back in?"

I backed away from the counter a little and crossed my arms and my eyes.

"Haley, are you trying to tell me something? Has Brooke told you...does she...did Brooke say something to you about never wanting to talk to me again?"

"No, I mean I don't know if she's feeling like that, but she..."

"She what?"

Haley looked up with even more worry in her face. With a sigh she said, " She's moved on, Lucas."

_**Okay...there it is. A longer chapter than the last few have been,but i have a feeling that is okay with you all LOL. Go ahead and review and i will have my Brooke chapter up tonigjht or this weekend. **_

_**Maureen**_


	15. THIRTEEN

_**Okay, before i get going with the chapter, I want to clarify something i forgot about until your reviews. Haley told Lucas at the end of the last chapter that Brooke has moved on. But in the chapter before, you guys read that Brooke ended things with Chase. But Haley doesn't know this yet. I'm sorry i forgot to clarify that. But later on after she knows and Lucas really starts to admit to himself his true feelings, Haley is going to push him like she does in the original Boomerangs oneshot story. So keep that i nmind as you keep reading, okay? So now here is Brooke's next chapter.**_

_**THIRTEEN**_

I had to admit that finally admitting how I felt brought some relief and allowed me to relax a little. But it also brought back that pain of being alone. What really made me cry alone at night was knowing that I could never act on my feelings. Lucas was with Peyton. He loved Peyton. He didn't love me anymore. He probably didn't even think about me anymore either. I understood all of that perfectly and painfully, but for some reason I couldn't get Chase to understand.

After I'd told him I still had feelings for Lucas, Chase still talked to me and came to visit like he promised he would. Obviously he didn't come over as often, but he still called and came over to study, and we would talk when he did. He made sure I wasn't alone then, and he pushed and pushed me to make sure I wouldn't be alone forever.

"Brooke, if you love Lucas then you need to tell him how you feel," he said to me one evening a week or so after I'd revealed my feelings.

"I have, Chase," I said as I sorted more of the baby clothes I'd just bought earlier that day. Chase worked on setting up the crib for me. "I have told him so many times that I love him. He just doesn't feel the same about me anymore. Maybe he never did."

"Well, that's obviously not true. You're carrying his child."

"Yeah, well...he didn't have to love me to get me pregnant."

"Oh come on, Brooke. Don't even go there! You know that's not how it was. You told me about how it used to be with him. And he would never have waited so long for you, or forgiven you for your mistakes if he didn't love you."

"Okay, so maybe he did love me, but he doesn't anymore."

"How do you know? Have you talked to him recently?"

I didn't answer. I didn't need to. I hadn't talked to Lucas, not since I left Tree Hill. But there was reason for that.

"Lucas is with Peyton now," I told him. "He loves her now."

"Maybe. But maybe not." Chase stopped work on the crib and came to sit by me. "Why is Lucas with Peyton?"

"Because he--"

"No, what I mean is what pushed him to move on to Peyton so soon after being with you?"

I stared back at him. Again, he already knew the answer. I had told him just about everything that had happened between Lucas and I.

"I told him it was okay," I said quietly, feeling the tears well up again.

"Why?" He asked as he took my hand.

"Because I love him."

"And you want him to be happy?"

I nodded.

"Well, did you ever think that maybe he is with Peyton now because he wants to make you happy?"

"What? No..."

"Think about it, Brooke. You love him. You were together twice. And when you ended things the last time, you said he kept trying to make things right with you, while you kept pushing him away. And then you told him to go and be with Peyton, that it's okay when he hesitated. Think about how he may have saw that, Brooke.

"You'd been pushing him away time after time, and then all of a sudden you were coming to him. So maybe the reason he listened to you then was because he thought it would make you happy. And if that's the case, if he is really only with her because you told him to, then it's probably because he does still love you."

I thought about everything Chase said as he'd said it. And as he finished that last thought of his, I shook my head. "That doesn't make any sense, though. He wouldn't be with Peyton if he were really trying to make me happy. She is the last person he would be with."

"Maybe it was his only option, Brooke. I don't think you're seeing it yet. Try and look at it from his point of you. You ended things and you kept pushing him away when he tried to reconcile with you. And then you are talking to him again, giving him the go ahead to be with the woman who tore the two of you apart. Maybe he took that as some strange sign that it was the only possible way he could finally make you happy, finally get you to let hi min again...by doing something you told him to do."

"You really think he sees it that way? 'Cause I see it as a choice. He could've chosen to be with me, to love me and only me. But he chose Peyton...he loves Peyton."

"Brooke, I still think you're refusing to see the same picture I see."

"I'm not refusing to see it, I'm just not seeing it because I know it's not true. And even if it were, it's too late to change anything now. I can't go back, Chase. Lucas and I had our chance and our second chance, and both times I've been the one left heartbroken. But I can't hurt anymore, and I don't want to hurt anymore. I need to move on, for myself and my daughter. I need to put myself back together again for this little girl so I can be strong and do right by her. I may have failed at love, but I am not going to fail as a mom."

Chase smiled. "You are a complicated woman, Brooke Davis."

I returned the smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment, thank you."

"And you didn't fail at love, Brooke," Chase said, getting serious again. "Love is just complicated and you just haven't figured it out yet. But you will. I have faith in you."

"Thanks. And maybe you're right...maybe I will figure it out someday. But I think I'm just going to take a break from it all and just focus on school and work and getting ready for the baby. But thanks for trying to help me figure it out. I don't know where I'd be without you and Haley to help me through."

"Well, you're an amazing person, Brooke, and you deserve happiness. And I really, really want you to find that."

"I will. It's like I said...I just need a break. And maybe that happiness will finally come when this little girl finally comes. Until then, though...I'm going to really try and move on. It's time for me to do that, to forget about Lucas. I know I can't ever really forget about him, but I can forget about my feelings for him. And I will over time. After all...time heals all wounds right?"

_I really hope so, _I thought to myself after I said that. _I really do hope so._

_**YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO...GO REVIEW!!!! NEXT IN lUCAS'S CHAPTER: DID HE SEND THE LETTER TO BROOKE? DID HE CALL HER? DID HE DO ANYTHING? HOW DID HE REACT TO THE NEWS THAT BROOKE HAS MOVED ON? ALSO...FINALLY HE MEETS HIS LITTLE...BROTHER OR SISTER???? FIND ALL THIS OUT IN CHAPTER FOURTEEN COMING SOON!!!!**_


	16. FOURTEEN

-1_**Hey guys! Sorry it's been awhile on this too, but i just had to get that chapter finished for What Life is This?. And the ni had to consult with morgan on this chapter. Hopefully you will like it. Please review!!!**_

_**FOURTEEN**_

I didn't send the letter. And I didn't call her. _What's the point? _I figured. She'd moved on. Brooke was with someone else, someone who wasn't me. _My Brooke..._except that she wasn't my Brooke anymore. And she would never be again.

I tucked the letter I'd written for her away and tried to pretend like it didn't bother me, her being with someone else. And I knew it shouldn't, but it did. For the first time ever, I realized Brooke Davis was really no longer a part of my life...and would never be again.

While I had hid away my letter for her, I pulled out the letter she had written me before she left. I read it over and over again, I guess because it made me feel closer to her somehow. And also, I think by reading it, I was trying to understand why she had chosen to shut me out of her life like she did. _Did she really hate me that much?_

I decided, after looking at that letter everyday for about two or three weeks, that it was time for me to seriously get Brooke out of my mind...for good. After all, she had obviously pushed me out of hers. I'd tried unsuccessfully before to keep my thoughts off of her, but I vowed then to make a much bigger effort. It wasn't fair to my heart, but most important...it wasn't fair to Peyton.

I finally started to get back to focusing on her and our relationship. I surprised her with a few more nights out than I had in the past. And I took a little more time to talk to her about what she was feeling and doing. We had started to slip away from each other (mostly due to me and my confusing feelings), but we finally began to find each other again. And we had a really great moment together in the hospital when we met and bonded with my new baby sister.

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"Mom, she's so beautiful," I said as I held my little sister in my arms for the first time. I smiled as the pink little bundle wriggled and fussed in my arms, scrunching her tiny button nose and balling her fist in her sleep. I ran two fingers over her dark hair.

"She looks like Keith, doesn't she?" my mother said.

I looked up at her and smiled with a nod. "Yeah, Ma...she does. And you know he is standing right there beside you right now."

I saw the tears form in her eyes and reached for her hand.

"So do you know what you're going to call her yet?" Peyton asked as she sat on the end around the other side of her bed.

"Yeah, Mom," I remembered. "What name did you decide on?"

My mom smiled and revealed her name.

"Addison. Addison Sophia Scott."

Peyton and I smiled at one another.

"That's really pretty, Karen," Peyton said. "The name definitely fits."

"Yeah, it does," I said, staring at Addison again. "You and I are going to be best friends, aren't we Addi?"

"How'd you decide on that name?" Peyton asked.

I looked back up at my mother and passed Addi to her as she explained.

"Well, it was actually a name that Keith and I discussed a long time ago, before Lucas was born."

"Really?" I said as I sat nect to Peyton and liftend my arm over her shoulders. My mother had never told me about this discussion.

"Yeah," she continued. " I didn't know if you were going to be a boy or a girl, so I had to decide on a girl's name too in case you came out and were a girl."

"Well, you were half right," Peyton joked smiling at me.

I laughed too and let my mom continue.

"Anyway, I asked Keith what name he would like for a girl. And he said that if he ever had a daughter of his own, he would like to give her the name Addison after his sweet old great grandmother, Addie who he spent a lot of time with growing up. And he said he'd want Addison to have a strong middle name that means something, so I decided on Sophia because it means wisdom."

My mom looked down at Addi and said, "And I have a very good feeling that this little girl is going to be very wise."

"She already is," I said and my mother looked back up at me. "She chose you for a mother."

My mom smiled again with tears in her eyes this time. She reached for my hand, and I took it in mine and squeezed gently.

"You guys are going to make a pretty awesome family," Peyton said with a beautiful smile.

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My mom fell asleep about an hour later. Peyton and I stayed a little while longer watching Addison sleep. We cuddled next to each other on the couch against the wall by the window. Peyton laid her head on my shoulder and I leaned my head against hers.

"So are you excited?" Peyton asked me. "You finally have a baby sister."

"Yep," I answered smiling. "It's going to be so great.I can't wait to tell her all about Keith."

"You know how proud Keith would be of you right now? Taking care of your mom through all this and being here for your sister."

"Yeah..." I said. My thoughts were on Keith then for a moment as I remembered him and how much I missed him. "I just wish he could've been here too, for real I mean. He would have made such a great dad."

"He was a great dad, Luke. He was a great dad to you."

"Yeah, I know, but...it's just hard to think that Addi is never going to know him like I did."

"Well, that's why you're going to tell her. You're right...it is horrible that she will never get to experience the real Keith. We can all thank Dan for that, but...she can still know about the kind of person that he was. She won't have to miss out on that if we tell her all about him."

I glanced down at Peyton and smiled. "You're incredible, you know that?"

"Yes I do," Peyton said with another smile. "That's why you love me."

I laughed returned the action when she leaned in to kiss me. We continued to snuggle together after that, and we talked more about the things we were going to teach Addi when she got older, and what it would be like when she first learned to talk, walk and ride a bike. We agreed that each and every event that little girl went through would be a great one that we would all enjoy together. And though I was sitting there dreaming about it with Peyton, as much as I told myself not to think about it, I couldn't stop my mind and my heart from wishing and hoping that one day, Brooke would be sitting next to me too to watch little Addi grow up.

**_okay guys...what'd you think? Please review and I'l lgive you this in return:_**

**_IN CHAPTER 15: Chase has helped Brooke with her own feelings and in trying to confront Lucas and her feelings. Now Brooke will return the favor. _**

**_ADDITIONALLY: December is fastly approaching in the story, and it will actually be more like Christmas time in the sroy, which means we are vastly approaching some pretty big events and milestones in the story, including not only the birth of Brooke's (and Lucas's) baby girl, but also something you've all been waiting for (okay, well not the big event you're still waiting for, but still something big that will open the door for that bigger event cough brucas cough to finally come in. So be patient, cuz it is coming. I am still working on OTH Memories: What Life..., so that's why updates take so long. working on 2 stories at once isn't so easy lol/ anyway, that's what's coming up. please review, and I'll ud sometime this week (i should ud this week). _**


	17. FIFTEEN

-1_**Okay...here's chapter fifteen. This chapter isn't as great as the others have been, but that's cuz i'm concentrating on the bigger chapters coming up LOL. anyway, let me know how you like.**_

__

_**FIFTEEN**_

Almost two months after we ended our relationship, Chase was still by my side. He was there for me in the exact way I needed him to be and didn't pressure me for anything else. He was my friend...a really good friend.

He helped me finish painting and setting up the nursery. He crammed for midterms with me. When I got overly hormonal and told myself I was crazy for thinking I could raise a baby on my own, Chase reassured me. And though I begged him over and over again to just let it go, he pushed me all the time to call or write Lucas and tell him how I felt and tell him about the baby for my own sake. Like I said, Chase did everything, and cared like a good friend should. And so I tried to return the favor.

"Brooke, I am really okay."

"Really?" I asked Chase as we walked together from school back to our apartment building. "'Cause I seriously feel like I am holding you back."

"You're not. I just don't have much time for dating right now."

"That's my whole point, Chase. Maybe you would have more time for that if you weren't always worrying about me."

"Hold on..." Chase stopped me. "Are you saying you don't want to be friends now either?"

"no, no, god no!" I said immediately. "I love our friendship and I am so grateful to you for being such an amazing friend to me. I just don't want you to miss out on meeting someone because you're doing so much for me."

"I won't, Brooke. and I like doing things for you. Someone has to be there for you since you won't let the one you love be there."

I sighed. "It's more complicated than that, Chase. I thought we already had that discussion. And anyway, you're changing the subject. I don't mind you doing things for me, in fact I really appreciate everything you do for me, but I want you to do more for yourself too. What about that girl from your psych class you were telling me about?"

"What about her?" Chase returned as we continued walking. "She's nice."

"So why don't you ask her out?"

"Because I'm not really sure she's my type."

"Well, you won't know if you don't give her a chance now will you?"

Chase looked over at me with a smile. Then he stopped again, as did I.

"I'll tell you what," he offered. "I promise to talk to Sarah if you promise to call Lucas."

_Whoa..._I was so not expecting that. And frankly, I had been a little shocked he would ask me to promise that after I'd already explained to him why I couldn't talk to Lucas then.

"Look," he started again. "I know that it is incredibly hard for you to even think about telling him. I know how much it scares you, how scared you are that he'll reject you, or hurt you again. But the truth of the matter is, you love him, Brooke. And you can't ignore that forever, as much as you'd like to.

"You already admitted you can't hide from your feelings. You have to face them, adn the only way to do that is by telling Lucas how you feel. At least start by giving him a call, or writing him. Yuo haven't talked to him in what? Like six months?"

Slowly, I nodded. He was right and I knew he was right. But knowing that didn't make me any less afraid.

"If you just give him a call and talk to him for like, five minutes, I guarantee you will finally start to heal and maybe it will even get easier for you to live with those feelings. If you call Lucas, Brooke...I promise I'll call Sarah."

I took a deep breath and I was so determined to say no and just let it go about Chase moving on. But I decided to be a friend to him like he had for me and do something he asked me to do.

"Okay," I agreed.

"That's my girl," Chase said with a smile as he opened his arms for a hug. "I knew you'd come around."

"Yeah, yeah..."

We walked a few more minutes before we reached the apartment building. Chase held the building door open for me, and just as he was about to step inside, someone yelled to him.

"Hey, hey, can you hold that door for me please?"

"Sure," Chase said as he held the door open for the young blond rushing over with a large moving box in her arms.

"Oh, thank you so much," the blond said as she set the box down inside.

"No problem."

I watched Chase smile at her as he let the door close behind him.

"I've been trying to move in all these boxes for like two hours," the blond continued. "And every time I've had to stop to unlock the door. Thank god this is the last one. Oh, I'm Amanda by the way, Amanda Thomas."

"I'm Chase," he said as he shook her hand. Finally, he looked back at me. "Oh, and this is my good friend, Brooke."

"Hi, nice to meet you," I said when she shook my hand.

"Would you like some help getting this box upstairs?" Chase offered. "It looks pretty heavy."

"Oh, thanks," Amanda said. "But I'm sure I can get it."

"Please, let me. You look exhausted."

"Okay." Amanda smiled. "Thanks. I'm on the second floor."

She led him upstairs and I watched with a smile. Maybe he wouldn't have to call that Sarah girl after all. Which meant, I hoped, I wouldn't have to call Lucas either. As much as I wanted to, I could never call him. It was too late...too late to tell him about the baby, and way too late to tell him I still loved him.

_**Okay...there's chapter 15. not very good and not very long, but there it is. I promise the next few chapters will be better. all the big stuff is about to unfold. please review!!!**_


	18. SIXTEEN

-1_**Okay, here comes Chapter 16 of Boomerangs: Our Story. It's kind of a short chapter, but it's sort of liek a to be conmtinued chapter, as you will have to wait until chapter 18 to know what happens. But...i do think you Brucas lovers like me will be somewhat happy with what does take place. Please review when you're through. Thanks!**_

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_**SIXTEEN**_

I could not have imagined getting a more beautiful, more wonderful or sweeter baby sister than Addison Sophia Scott. After only about a month, she had such an amazing personality already. I often watched her for my mom while she worked at the cafe or ran errands. And I loved spending every minute I did with Addi. I loved holding her and watching her sleep. But I especially loved watching her when she was awake, when her beautiful blue eyes sparkled with her adorable little smile.

Peyton loved to watch Addi with me too sometimes. It seemed she was as much in love my little sister as I was. Of course, how could anyone not be in love with her? To quote what Haley said when she had met her: "She's so damn cute!"

While I loved hearing what my friends thought of my new sister, I often found myself, (when I was alone with Addi) wondering what Brooke would think about her. And when I wondered about that, I wondered how Brooke would've taken to Addi, how she would have acted and felt around her. And sometimes when I watched Peyton hold Addi in her arms, I pictured Brooke in her place.

My thoughts finally made it obvious to me that there would never be getting Brooke out of my mind. I mean if spending all my time and attention on my new sister couldn't, what could? I had been certain having Addi around would chase my thoughts of Brooke away. But it seemed her arrival had only increased my thoughts of Brooke.

As I often had when I thought about her, I pulled that letter from Brooke out again. I pulled the one I wrote out again too. I looked at them both again and started to reconsider sending my letter to Brooke. Then I thought maybe I should rewrite the letter to make it a little less ex-boyfriendish, and more friendly. But...what would I say?

Maybe she would enjoy hearing about Addison. _Or, maybe she wouldn't care. _Maybe I could simply focus the letter on her, ask how she was doing. _Or maybe she wouldn't answer. _I finally decided I would simply send her a Christmas card or something to wish her holiday season a happy one, as Thanksgiving had just passed and Christmas was vastly approaching. _But, what if she looked at the return address and just decided to throw it away before reading it? _Any idea that came to me didn't seem right, didn't seem good enough.

That's all I could seem to focus on at some points when I was alone...what I could do to finally get Brooke to talk to me. I wanted her back in my life so badly, especially for the holidays. Not only did I want her back, but I needed her back. It had felt so...not right without there at dinner on Thanksgiving, I could not imagine her not being there for Christmas, or there to ring in the new year with. It had really begun to take a toll on my heart, how much I missed her. And I think Peyton had started to see that too.

After Addison was born, Peyton and I had slowly started to fall into that distantness again. We both had gotten so busy with work, school, finals, and me helping with Addi, that time seemed to have been stolen away from just the two of us. Bout on some level, I knew it wasn't just our lives getting in the way of our relationship, but our feelings too. And apparently, I had not been the only one of us who realized that.

I had been watching Addi for my mom one night while she did inventory at the cafe. After she had fallen asleep, I'd found myself bored out of my mind waiting for Peyton to get home from a later class, so I'd pulled out those letters again, thinking I had time to read at least one of them over again before Peyton got home. I was wrong.

"Hey," she said when she entered. I hadn't expected her so soon, so she had startled me, sort of caught me off guard (and red handed in thoughts about Brooke with those letters).

"Hey," I returned as she sat down next to me. She kissed my lips as I tried to hide the letters under the pillow next to me. But I hadn't been quick enough.

"What's that?" She asked when she saw the folded paper in my hands.

I glanced at the letter again, and I realized that it was time I told her the truth...about everything.

"It's from Brooke," I told her. "It's a letter she gave me before she left."

Peyton nodded and grew quiet then. When she looked back at me, she asked, "Why didn't you tell me about it before?"

"Honestly?" I thought for a second before I answered. "I don't really know. I guess I didn't think it meant anything."

"But it does, doesn't it?"

I could only stare at her, and I think she had seen the answer in my expression. She looked away from me again for a moment, and when she looked back, she had tears in her eyes.

"Lucas..." she said softly. "We need to talk."

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_**Like I said, this will be continued in chapter 18 (well, it will be discussed by Lucas or flashed back, but you will know what happens. as you can probably tell from this ending to the chapter, the things you all want to happen are slowly starting to come together. **_


	19. SEVENTEEN

**_Finally, another update ready! Sorry it's been so long. Been busy with end of the year stuff and making sure I'm all set for college in the fall. But I've got this ready for you now. I'm sorry it is so so short, but since I gave Lucas a TO BE CONTINUED CHAPTER, I figured I should give Brooke one too, especially since I screwed up all my chapters and had to get organized again. So I am cutting this chapter really short so that with the next Brooke chapter, I will be at the chapter number I am supposed to be. I hope this isn't too confusing. But please review anyway and let me know._**

_**SEVENTEEN**_

It's amazing how fast time flies. Before I knew it, it was already December, which not only meant my first Christmas in New York, but it also meant it was only one more month until my precious little girl arrived. I could not wait.

I had been right about Chase and Amanda, by the way. They had really hit it off. He asked her out about a week after he met her and she happily agreed. The two of them had so much in common, (he told me after their first date). He also said, (dreamily I might add) she was stunningly beautiful, sweet, funny, and totally amazing. I told him then how happy I was for him, and that I was glad he was finally moving on.

Amanda didn't have any family or anyone in New York to spend Thanksgiving with, so I had invited her and Chase to spend it with me since I was alone too. We had a nice time. I even got a call from Haley. After waiting weeks to talk to her because we'd both been so busy, her with Keith, and me with school, work and getting ready for the baby, we finally got to have a nice long, forty-five minute conversation.

So anyway, December came and snow had finally begun to fall in New York. And it was beautiful there. I'd always dreamed of spending a Christmas, and maybe even ringing in a new year, in New York. I was so happy to finally be living the dream. The holiday season there was almost perfect. The only part missing from the dream was having Lucas there beside me.

_**So Chapter 18 is going to continue where we left off with Lucas, and then 19 will continue with this. I hope this makes sense. Please review and let me know. Thanks so much for your patience. I promise an update coming soon!**_


	20. EIGHTEEN

_**Okay…here we go. Back to where we left off with Lucas. I really, really think you Brucas lovers like me are going to be happy with this. Let me know either way**_ 

_**EIGHTEEN**_

We broke up…Peyton and I. We broke up that night she caught me with Brooke's letters. We had a long talk that night…about everything. And I think it had been the first time either of us had been honest not only with each other, but with ourselves as well.

"We need to talk, Luke," Peyton said after I had told her about Brooke's letter.

I had nodded and looked down at the letter again as I said, "Yeah…I think that's probably a good idea."

"Things have been really off with us, Luke," Peyton continued. "Actually, I think us has been off for awhile, but neither one of us wanted to admit it."

"I think you're right," I said as I nodded again. "I wish I understood why though."

"Because you're afraid of your feelings," Peyton said and I looked up at her again.

She stared back at me and said, "You were afraid to tell me how you really feel, afraid to tell me that you don't love me anymore…that you never really loved me."

"But I did—I do love you, Peyton," I said as I took her hand. "I do love you."

She squeezed my hand a little and continued, "I know. But you're not in love with me. You never have been. It's Brooke. She's the one for you, Lucas, not me."

Peyton shifted next to me on the couch before she explained. "You have made it so obvious that you still love her. Your expression changes at the mention of her name, and you get the same look in your eyes whenever you see a picture of her, or hear her name. And I know how much you are hurting right now, having not seen her or spoken to her in seven months."

She stopped then and looked down at my lap. She reached over me and pulled my letter for Brooke out from under the pillow where I had tried to hide it.

"It's pretty clear how much you miss her, Luke," Peyton said again as she held the paper up for me.

"Don't worry…I didn't read it. But I, um…I heard you talking about it with Haley."

"You did?"

She nodded and handed the folded paper back to me. "Yeah…I wasn't eavesdropping or anything. I just happened to overhear on my way to the bathroom.

I looked down at the letters in my hand and I tried to explain my actions. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you, Peyton, about either letter. With Brooke's letter, I didn't tell you out of respect for her. But with my letter…I don't know. I guess I just didn't know how you would feel about me writing to her, and I didn't want to hurt you."

Peyton nodded again. "I understand."

I looked at her confused. She understood? She really wasn't angry?

"I guess you and I not only love each other enough to want to spare each other from hurting, but we also share the same secrets."

I had still been confused as she turned away, reached into her bag and pulled out a thick stack of folded computer paper.

"What's this?" I asked as I took the stack from her.

"Emails," she said, taking a short pause for she added, "From Jake."

I looked up at her while she explained the emails.

"The first email came about six months ago," Peyton started, pulling her feet up on the couch and wrapping her arms around her knees. "He wrote me to see how I was doing and to make sure I was happy. I hadn't expected to get that email from him, so it kind of took me by surprise. I hadn't spoken to him or seen him in months, and I realized how much I missed him and Jenny. So I sent him an email back. And we agreed to be friends again."

"But that's not how you feel about him anymore, is it?" I asked, already knowing what her answer would be.

She had tears in her eyes again when she answered. "I still love him, Lucas," she said softly. "The more emails we wrote to each other, the more I started to remember how much I loved him. And I realized that I had never stopped loving him. I had only pushed away what I felt for him because I was scared.

"When I went to see him in Savannah shortly before graduation, I knew I would always care for him and I knew that I would probably always love him. But then he made me realize that there was at least still a part of me that was in love with you. And I knew he was right…I knew I did still love you. But…I think I felt it was safe to love you."

"You have always been there for me, Lucas, and that's why I love you so much. You were the only one who ever stuck around for me. You know my dad was and is always traveling for work. Nathan was never there…Haley left on tour…Brooke left whenever she met a guy, or she and I had a fight. And Jake…well, he left to save Jenny both times he left, which I understand, but…I just needed someone then who would be there for me, and I knew that you would be."

"But even though he left me, Jake was still an important part of my life, which is why it had so hard for me back in Savannah to choose you over him. But I did because I was scared. I was so afraid that if I kept loving him, he would leave me again and I would be alone for the rest of my life. And I didn't want that. So when I got that first email from him, it sort of acted as proof to me that he wasn't going to leave me again. In fact, he was coming back to me again."

I looked away from Peyton for a moment realizing that the relationship she and I had had for the past eight months had pretty much been a lie. That disappointed me, but at the same time…I was relived and happy that we were both finally being honest with each other and our feelings.

"I gave my heart to him, Lucas," Peyton continued and I looked back at her." I gave my heart to Jake a long time ago, just like you gave yours to Brooke. And I don't think either one of us really ever gave either one of them a chance. I think we both were too afraid of what might happen if we did."

I nodded again, definitely understanding that feeling. It was why I was so afraid to send that letter to Brooke.

"I am so sorry, Luke. I never meant to hurt you like this."

"No, you didn't hurt me, Peyton. You've actually helped me finally stop hiding from my feelings. I haven't been able to stop thinking about Brooke since she left. I mean I've tried to, I've done everything I can think of to stop thinking about her, but…I can't seem to get her out of my head. I can't stop missing her, or worrying about her, or…"

"Loving her?"

I looked back, and with my nod, I had finally admitted that I was still in love with Brooke Davis. Peyton nodded too to show her understanding.

"I know how you feel," she said. "I've been trying to do the same thing since I got that first email from Jake. After I sent him the reply email, I decided that the emails were strictly emails between good friends, and that they were just a last goodbye for us, and that I needed to get my mind off of him. But when he sent a second email…I realized I couldn't, nor did I want to, forget about him. I tried for months to tell you about the emails and about how I still felt about him, but I couldn't figure out how or when to tell you. I didn't want to hurt you either."

I looked away again and I said, "So what happens to us then?"

Peyton paused then. But when she answered, she answered with a smile. "Well, I hope…that we can still be friends?"

I smiled then too.

"Of course we can. We were friends before we were us, so why can't we be again?"

"Exactly. You're a great friend, Luke."

I smiled and looked back the letter in my hand again, wishing that Brooke agreed.

"And I'm sure Brooke feels the same about you," Peyton said.

"Yeah…sure," I said and I looked up at her again.

"She does," Peyton assured. "I know she must. I may not be her friend anymore, but she's still mine and I still know just about everything about her. And I know that when you and her were together, she looked at you as the greatest friend in the world. Don't doubt it, Luke. Send her the letter and find out for yourself. And don't be afraid either. Sometimes you have to take risks for the ones you love. I know I did when I let Jake go. But he came back to me. Who knows…maybe Brooke will come back to you too."

I faked a smile, unsure if I should give up all my hopes and take her word. But I hugged her anyway and kissed her cheek.

It felt good to have finally been honest with Peyton…and myself, even with the end of my relationship with Peyton. But the end of Peyton and me meant it was seriously time for me to face my feelings for Brooke head on. I was in the free and clear now, free to do whatever I wanted to with my feelings. And I knew that I should tell Brooke, and I wanted to tell her (oh, god did I want to tell her), but I was still terrified.

Brooke had pretty much dropped me from her life. She had left with barely a goodbye and hadn't spoken one word to me, or visited me in seven months. And she had moved on to someone else. That all pretty much told me she had wanted absolutely nothing to do with me anymore.

So how could I tell her? How could I tell Brooke I was still in love with her when she didn't even want to speak to me? Or, a more guilt stricken question, how could I tell her I loved her still after how badly I had hurt her…twice? Would she even believe me? And if, on the off chance, she did believe me, she probably wouldn't have anything to say back. I had blown my second chance with her. I could never ask for a third. She would never take me back again. And did I even have a right to ask her to? No, I decided. I lost that right when I lost Brooke. I gave up any and every right to Brooke's heart when I let her go.

I let her go…I let her walk away. Now that I had been honest with my feelings, I had to deal with the realization that Brooke would have still been mine if I hadn't let her go. If I had just fought harder for her instead of walking away, maybe she would still be with me, maybe she would still love me. But it was too late. Brooke was gone…and so was any third chance for Brooke and I.

_**Okay…what do you think? Did you see that coming? Please review and Brooke's following chapter will be coming soon…tonight if I can. **_


	21. NINETEEN

_**As promised, this chapter will continue with Brooke from chapter seventeen. Please review!**_

_**NINETEEN**_

"You know, it's not too late for you to change your mind, Brooke. You can still come with us if you want."

Chase and Amanda stopped by my apartment before they headed off to the airport. He was taking her home to California with him for the holidays to meet his family.

"Yeah, you should come," Amanda added. She and I had gotten to be really good friends in just a couple of months. "It'll be fun…warm even."

I laughed. "No, thanks. You two go and have fun."

As much as I didn't want to be alone on Christmas, I also didn't want to be a third wheel, or get in the way of their time alone together.

"Come on, Brooke," Chase pleaded as he walked closer to me. "I feel really bad leaving you here alone for Christmas."

"No, don't feel bad. It's okay, really. My friend Amy from Lamaze class invited me over to have dinner with her and her family. And then for New Year's Eve, I'll probably go down to watch the ball drop. I won't be alone, I promise."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I said smiling. "Now go on. You're going to miss your flight."

Chase pulled me in a hug and kissed my cheek. As he lifted his and Amanda's luggage, I hugged Amanda. After he came back inside, Chase said, "I'm going to call you on Christmas and New Year's. And we will be back around noon on the second, so I'll be back in time to be here when that little girl comes."

I giggled. "Okay."

He hugged me again and said. "You be careful, okay?"

"I will. Now get going!"

I pushed him out the door and I waved to him and Amanda both as they climbed into the taxi.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it had been kind of a lonely Christmas for me that year. I did spend it with my friend Amy and her family, but it still hadn't felt very much like Christmas to me. I had no family and none of my close friends with me, which made Christmas really hard for me to get through.

I guess I could have avoided being so lonely if I had just taken Chase up on his offer and gone with him and Amanda, but I really hadn't wanted to travel so far so late in my pregnancy. Plus, if I had gone to California, I probably would have run into my parents since Chase's family lived in the same area, and I really did not want to see them after my last conversation with them.

I had called my parents the day after Thanksgiving and finally told them about the baby. I got a lecture from both of them, all the while I cried my eyes out. My mother had basically called me a slut, and my father…well, he practically disowned me. He said I couldn't be the daughter he raised because he did not raise me to be so stupid to get myself pregnant. His words and my mothers had hurt me, but I had tried not to think about what a disappointment to them I was for too long. I decided instead to remember that they were a bigger disappointment to me because they had failed me, and I was never going to be like them. I was already a better parent than they were by loving my child and wanting to be there for her before she was even born.

Anyway, I didn't want to go to California and risk running into them, or going into labor so far away from home. So instead, Chase had promised to call me on the twenty fifth, and wish me a happy new year around midnight of January 1st, 2008. And I reminded him before he left that I would be expecting that call from him on Christmas and New Years. What I hadn't been expecting, however, was…well, what I hadn't planned for.

_**Okay, there it is. Tell me what you think. You guys are really going to love the next Brooke chapter I think. Many surprises in store…and knowing you all, you can probably guess at least one of them, the biggest one. But I will let you ponder the surprises while you review and while I go and get Chapter 20 finished. I'm hoping to have 20 up relatively soon. I'm thinking maybe this week. I'll try to get it done before Saturday, but most definitely next week! Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter guys. They were awesome. And if you review as much for this one, I promise some shout outs. And if any of you here are reading my other story, What Life is This?, I just want to let you know that I almost have the next chapter for that one ready too. And it, too, is a big chapter with a big surprise…well too big surprises actually. So please be sure to check that out when you see it up. Thanks again guys!!!**_

_**--Maureen**_


	22. TWENTY

_**TWENTY**_

Despite the fact that Peyton and I had broken up, Christmas had been not too bad that year. In fact, it had been pretty wonderful, as it had been the first Christmas for my nephew and my sister. Granted, they were only three months and two months old and would never remember their first Christmas, but we would always remember it.

We all spent Christmas together…my mom and Addison, Nathan, Haley, Keith, and Peyton and I. We opened presents together and shared dinner together like a big happy family. The only two people missing from our family were Keith and Brooke.

While it had been really great to celebrate Christmas with my family, it had still been hard for me to enjoy the holiday without Brooke there too. I missed her so much and I wanted to be with her more than anything, but I couldn't. And that killed me.

"Lucas, why don't you just call her?" Peyton asked me later Christmas evening after she had gotten off the phone with Jake. "I'm sure she'd be surprised and thrilled to hear from you, especially if you told her how you feel."

"Actually," I started in reply. "I think she'd probably hang up on me if I did that."

"Why?"

"Because I hurt her, Peyton. I broke her heart two too many times, and that's probably why she hasn't made any contact with me since she left. She'll never believe me if I tell her I'm still in love with her. So what's the point?"

"Because if you don't tell her how you really feel, if you don't take that risk, Luke…you're going to spend the rest of your ;life wondering what might have happened and what could have been. That's no way to live your life, Luke…unhappy and wondering how much different and wonderful your life could have been."

I shook my head. "I just…I don't think I can do it, not now anyway."

"If not now, then when, Lucas?"

I looked up at her, but I didn't answer.

"Life is short, Luke," Peyton continued. "Way too short. And I know you understand that from losing Keith. So you can't just sit back and wait for life to happen. You have to get up and go after what you want in your life. You have to make your own happiness. And if Brooke isn't going to come after you, then maybe you need to go after her."

"But maybe the reason Brooke isn't coming after me, is because she doesn't want me anymore. Haley told me she's with someone else."

"Haley told you that like three months ago, Luke. Brooke may have moved on by now. Knowing Brooke, she probably has moved on by now."

"Right, which means she could very well be with a new someone else."

"And she could very well be not with anyone else too."

I looked away again, unsure of what I should do at that point, if I should take Peyton's advice or not.

"Look," Peyton said again and I looked at her. "You can't hide forever, Lucas. But if you need some time to think about it, then take some time. But don't wait so long that you lose Brooke forever. If you don't feel like you can call her, at least send her the letter you wrote for her, Lucas. Maybe that will be a little easier. But whatever you do…be true to your heart."

_Be true to my heart…_that was some good advice. But I still couldn't convince myself to call Brooke, or to even send her the letter. I was too afraid. I was afraid to take that risk that Peyton told me to. I was too afraid to face rejection, to get hurt. Of course with as much as I had hurt Brooke, I shouldn't have been so afraid to face heartbreak myself. But I was. And I didn't know how I could overcome that fear. And I think I was too afraid to try.

_**Okay, I know that chapter was short, but I have to save the rest of Lucas's thoughts about this for chapter 22. I am just so anxious to get to the next chapter, that I want to get going on it. I so cannot wait til you guys read it. And I can't wait to read some reviews from all of you on this. So please go and give me something to read. I'll be waiting!!**_


	23. TWENTY ONE

_**Hey guys! Finally the chapter I have been so anxious to post. This one is actually longer than the chapters have been, so I hope you enjoy it! Please review after you read! Thanks!**_

_**TWENTY ONE**_

I woke up early on New Year's Eve, excited for the impending new year, but not really feeling up to celebrating by myself, or at all really. The back pain that woke me has been so much worse than it had been throughout my entire pregnancy. As painful as it was, though, I knew it was supposed to get more painful as I got closer to my due date. So I tried to keep myself busy to avoid the pain (of my back and being alone on yet another holiday).

I finished washing, folding, and putting away all of the baby clothes I'd bought over the past seven months. After getting all that done, I decided I'd work on some more of designs for _ClothesOverBros, _since it had been awhile since I'd actually had time to finish one. Just as I was getting really focuses on my sketches, though, the phone rang.

I looked away from my sketches, looked around me on the couch, but couldn't find the phone. It continued to ring, and I looked up and realized I had left the phone on the counter…all the way across the room.

"Damn," I said as I debated whether or not I should get up and walk over to get it.

I'd gotten to be pretty lazy the further along I got in my pregnancy, particularly on days like that day when the back pain was awful, I was very irritable, and completely exhausted. But I decided to get up to get the phone anyway, since I figured it had to be either Chase or Haley calling.

"Hello?" I answered the phone as I sunk into a stool at the counter.

I waited for a response from the other end, but I didn't get one.

"Hello?" I said again, getting very irritated. "Is anyone there?"

But there was still no answer, so I hung up the phone, even though I'd sworn I'd heard someone breathing on the other end.

"I cam all the way over here for that?" I said, rubbing my stomach as I held the phone in my hand. Then the phone rang again and I jumped.

"Hello?" I answered again.

"Hey, Brooke." It was Chase's voice I heard through the phone this time."

"Hey," I said. "Did you just try calling me?"

"No. Why?"

"Nothing, never mind. What's up?"

"Well, I'm just calling as promised."

I smiled when I said," Thank you for remembering. But you're supposed to call me at midnight, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Chase returned. "And I will. I just wanted to call now and see how you're feeling today and what you're up to."

I moved my free hand from my belly to my lower back as I felt another sharp pain.

"Well," I said after wincing. "My back is really killing me today, so I haven't really done much."

"Are you okay?" Chase asked me, sounding suddenly really concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It'd just my back. Don't worry. I've still got a week til my due date, and according to the doctor at my last appointment before Christmas, I'm progressing really slowly."

"You're sure you're not…"

"Yes, I'm sure. If I were going into labor, I would know it. Trust me."

"Okay. Well, just take it easy today then."

"I am. But thanks for worrying about me so much."

"You're welcome. Thanks for letting me worry so much. But I've got to go. Amanda and I are having lunch with my parents."

"Okay." I smiled again. "Tell Mandy I said hi."

"I will. And I'll talk to you tonight."

"Okay."

I clicked off the phone and rubbed my back again. I checked the time on the microwave and decided it was probably a good time to call and talk to Haley for awhile since I couldn't think of anything else to do.

I picked up the phone again and dialed her number. I held the phone to my ear and listened to the ring on the other end as I climbed off the stool and slowly made my way back over to the couch again. After four or five rings, the answering machine picked up.

"_Hey, you've reached Nathan and Haley Scott," _Nathan's voice spoke on the recording.

"_And baby Keith," _Haley's enters the recording and I smiled. Then the voice was Nathan's again.

"We can't get to the phone right now, but if you leave a message, we'll get back to you as soon as we can."

I waited for the beep and then left a message as I leaned back in the couch.

"Hey guys, it's Brooke. I was just calling to say hey and see what you were all up to today. But I guess I missed you, so just give me a call later when you get this. I'll be home all day most likely, so…yeah, just give me a call."

I clicked the phone off again and wondered if I should try Haley's cell. But then I realized she was probably out celebrating or something with Nathan and Keith, and probably with Lucas and Peyton too, so I would just try her at home again later. Or better yet, I'd just wait for her to call me.

I couldn't think of anything to do at that point, so I decided maybe a nap would make me feel better as well as kill time, since I'd been yawning since the moment I'd woken up that morning. So I arranged the couch pillows how I wanted them, and, with some difficulty in my condition, lifted my swollen feet up on the couch and laid my head on the pillows. I shut my eyes and was out within minutes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was dark when I'd woken again to more incredible back pain. It felt so much more painful that it had when I went to sleep. But it wasn't just my back that hurt anymore. I gripped my stomach as I endured what felt like the worst stomach cramp in the world.

"Oh…my god, that hurts!" I said after I'd sat up and finished breathing through the pain. I looked down at my hands on my bulging belly and spoke to my baby. "Baby girl, what are you doing to mommy?"

There was a knock at the door then and I looked up.

"Ugh," I groaned,. "Figures someone decides to visit when I can barely move."

I managed to slowly pull myself up in my pain. I didn't move right away, as another sharp pain came over me that I'd needed to stand still and breath through. I'd noticed another strange feeling along with it. I looked down at the floor and finally realized why I was in so much pain.

"Oh no…" I said, looking up in a panic. "No, no, baby…you're not supposed to come yet!"

Whoever was on the other side of that door knocked again louder and I remembered why I'd gotten up in the first place.

"Okay," I said to myself and to my belly as I began to move toward the door again. "We can do this…just breathe."

I breathed in and out as I moved and I finally made it to the door. Without looking through the hole in the door first, I unlocked and opened the door.

"Surprise!" Haley screamed on the outside with a huge grin.

I smiled at her standing in the hall with Nathan and the baby carrier on the floor next to them with baby Keith sleeping inside.

"Oh my god," I replied, both in reaction to seeing them there and to the incredible pain I was feeling with yet another contraction.

I lost my balance then, and Nathan and Haley both caught me.

"Whoa…" Nathan said in response as he and Haley held me up.

"Brooke, are you okay?" Haley asked me with concern.

I nodded and fashioned a smile.

"Yeah," I said, doing my breathing again. "I'm just, um///I'm just in labor."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nathan had stayed at my apartment with Keith to wait for Chase's phone call, while Haley drove me to the hospital.

"You doing okay, sweetie?" Haley asked me while she drove/

"Not really," I responded, breathing still so hard as I gripped the arm of the passenger seat of Haley's SUV. "I swear I'm going to die."

"Oh, I know it hurts, sweetie," Haley said, taking my hand, but keeping focus on the road. "But you're not going to die. I promise."

"Ahh!" I screamed in pain. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, you'll be okay when it's all over."

"God…I want it to be over now! Haley…"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor when you get back to Tree Hill? When you see him…please, please smack Lucas really, really, REALLY hard for me!"

Haley smiled and said, "Okay, I will."

"Are we almost there?"

"Yeah, I'm pulling in now. Just breathe, okay?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We arrived at the hospital and things had seemed to move much quicker than the dovtors and I had expected them too. I was already at seven centimeters dilated when they checked me in,, which meant, as the doctor explained to me, I had been contracting all day, and at least a day or two. Within in an hour, I was at ten centimeters and ready to deliver and I made Haley come in with me, too afraid to go through it all alone.

"Push, Brooke!" Haley coached as she stood next to me, holding my hand in the delivery room.

I shook my sweaty head and said, "I can't, Haley. I can't do it anymore."

I had been pushing for an hour and was so exhausted. And even with as much pain as I was in, and how excited I was to see my daughter, I'd just wanted to give up then.

"Yes you can, Brooke," Haley said. "You can do it. You're almost done."

"I don't care," I said, crying and breathing hard. "I can't…I just…I need to take a break."

"Honey, you can't take a break right now. That baby is right there, ready to make her appearance. You want to meet her, don't you? Hold her in your arms?"

I nodded then, remembering why I was working and hurting so much for in the first place.

"Okay," I said as I prepared to push again.

"Godd girl," Haley said.

"You're doing an excellent, job, Brooke," my doctor told me. "Your little girl is ready and waiting to meet you, so can you give me one more big push?"

I nodded and pushed again. I had never felt that much pain ever before in my life, but I kept going, knowing I was almost through and I would soon have my little girl.

"That's it, Brooke," the doctor encouraged. "Good, good…almost there…"

"Oh, there she is," Haley said with a smile and I relaxed on my pillow.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

I hadn't heard her cry yet, and it worried me. But after a minute, I finally heard my daughter's screams as the doctor held her up for me to see after she ahd cut the cord.

"Yes she is," the doctor answered me. "She's a big, beautiful, healthy baby girl, Brooke. You did a great job."

I smiled, and with tears in my eyes I said, "Oh, thank god."

"Can I hold her?" I asked when the nurse took the baby from the doctor.

"in just a minute, okay?" The doctor said. "The nurses are going to clean her up and weigh her and wrap her up for you, okay?"

I looked back at Haley and smiled while I waited for them to finally hand over my baby.

"Thank you for coming," I said to her, finally having the opportunity to react to her surprise visit. "And thank you for being in here with me."

"Of course. You did so great, Brooke. You know…Lucas would be so proud of you right now."

I'd looked away then and over to the station where the nurses were wrapping my little angel up in a pink blanket. I didn't want to talk about Lucas, not then anyway. All I wanted to do was hold my baby. And finally the nurse brought her over to me.

"There you go, mom," the cheery, smiling nurse said as she laid the beautiful, pink bundle in my arms.

My eyes filled with tears again as I held and stared at my baby girl. I couldn't believe she was finally in my arms.

"Oh, Brooke…" Haley said, with tears in her own eyes. "She's so beautiful."

I sniffled as I nodded. She really was beautiful, the most beautiful baby girl ever born. She had gorgeous, dark brown hair (and lots of it), amazing blue eyes (just like Lucas's) and long, yet beautiful eyelashes.

"She's so soft," I whispered, afraid to talk too loudly and wake her as she closed her tiny eyes. I ran two fingers along her smooth cheeks. And then, as carefully as I could, I lifted her up closer to my face and I said. "And she smells just like heaven."

Haley chuckled and said, "That was the first thing I thought when Keith was born."

I smiled at Haley and looked back at my sleeping daughter again. After a few minutes, Haley broke the silence again.

"Guess what, Brooke?" I looked up at her again. She smiled and said, "Happy New Year."

I smiled and remembered.

"Happy New Year," I returned. I looked back at my precious little angel again and said, "And happy New Year to you too."

"You have any idea what you're going to call her yet?"

I looked back at my little girl and realized I hadn't decided on a name for her yet. I'd been thinking about some and had even come up with some nicknames, but I hadn't decided on a real name for her yet. I'd thought I'd had at least a few more days.

"I don't know," I said, answering Haley. "What am I going to call you, my little angel?"

I stared at her longer, trying to come up with something then. As I stared at her, I felt myself falling more and more in love with her. She had already brought me so much happiness and faith to my life just in being born. It felt to me like God had answered all my prayers and sent me one of his own angels to love me and to need me. She really felt to me like an angel sent straight from heaven, just as she had smelled to me…heavenly…that was it.

I smiled at my thoughts. I finally knew exactly what her name should be…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**There it is guys! Hope you liked it. And I'm sorry if the stuff in this chapter wasn't too realistic, but I only know what I learned in my high school Parenting class LOL I've never had a baby, so I don't know what it's like other than what I've seen on TV. LOL so I apologize if that sucked or wasn't too realistic. Anyway, let me know what you thought and the next chapter wil lbe up as soon as it is finished.**_

_**--Maureen**_


	24. TWENTY TWO

_**I know it's been awhile, but I was trying to finish What Life is This since I was so close to the ending. But now I am going to focus on this for a little while. And I really am sorry it has been awhile, especially without giving you the baby's name. LOL. But anyway…this is your next Lucas chapter, and then the next brucas chapter will reveal her daughter's name. So on to the show (or story lol)**_

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_**TWENTY TWO**_

While I had felt a little lonely on Christmas without Brooke, New Year's Eve had been much more lonely. It hadn't been as busy as Christmas had been because almost everyone I usually spent the holidays with were away or busy.

Peyton had gone and spent the evening with Jake, who had driven up to Tree Hill from Savannah with Jenny and surprised her. He took her out to dinner and to a party with his family to ring in the new year. I was happy for her, but I wished deep down inside that I had gotten a surprise like that too…from Brooke.

Speaking of Broke, Nathan and Haley had taken Keith and gone to visit Brooke in New York. Haley hadn't seen Brooke since she'd left Tree Hill, so she wanted to go and surprise Brooke on New Year's as a Christmas present. But she also wanted to spend her son's first New Year's with him, so Nathan had suggested they take him with them and drive down together. And when Haley had told me their plans, she had even invited me to come along.

"Why don't you come with us, Luke?" She'd asked me. "I'm sure Brooke would be really happy and excited to see you."

"Really? 'Cause I think if that were true, she would've called me or something at least once in the past seven months."

Haley sighed then. I think she was getting annoyed with me making excuses.

"Well, maybe she's waiting for you to make the first move," she suggested.

"Did she tell you that?"

"No, but…you know, Brooke, Luke. You know how stubborn she can be."

I nodded then, thinking about Brooke.

"Yeah…" I said as I nodded. "Damn stubborn…"

"Right, so maybe she wouldn't be so afraid to let her guard down again if you came up and surprised her with us."

"Haley doesn't have a bad idea, Luke," Nathan entered the conversation as he lifted Keith and the baby carrier onto the counter in their kitchen. "You could see Brooke, which we all know you're dying too…and you can finally tell her how you feel."

"No…" I said, shaking my head again. "I can't."

"Why not, Lucas?" Haley asked, getting annoyed with me again.

"Because…I'm not ready!"

I told her I wasn't ready, and in part, that was true. But mostly I was afraid. I wanted to go with them, I really did. I wanted to see Brooke…I wanted to see her so badly, but I was too afraid to get there and have her slam the door in my face.

"Suit yourself, Luke," Haley said before taking her son in his carrier and walking out the door.

"Thanks, Luke," Nathan said to me after she's stormed out. "Now she's going to be grumpy the whole trip there."

"Sorry," I said with half a smile as Nathan took the diaper and bag and we started for the door together.

"Look," Nathan said, stopping me at the door. "I know that you're afraid to see her, Luke, afraid to tell her how you really feel. It's not the first time. But I also know how much you miss her and how much you still love her. We all see it, Luke…you're dying without her. So I guess it's just hard for Haley, me and everyone to understand why you won't just open your heart and tell her that you love her. But you, um…you do what you got to do, or don't do what you're so afraid of doing. But you know you can't hide forever. Sooner or later…you're going to have to face her. And if you don't do it sooner…you're risking losing her forever."

I'd taken in Nathan's words, but I still didn't change my mind and go with them. I was still too much of a coward to go with them. I think I felt like I didn't have the right to anymore, that it was Brooke's choice now. And evidently…she had already made her choice. And I wasn't about to go all the way up there just to have her tell me to leave, and especially not on a holiday. It was certainly not how I'd wanted to start of the new year.

So I'd stayed behind while they went off to New York. I decided I would just spend it with my mom and Addison, but even that plan was turned around on me. Addi was sick and my mom was a bit under the weather too, so she urged me to just please stay away from the house for a few days so I wouldn't get sick too.

So I was left alone on New Year's Eve…with nothing to do and no one to do nothing with. So I guess some might wonder how I did spend the holiday. Well, let's just say I did something I probably shouldn't have. I rang in the new year alone in my apartment…with nothing but a few too many beers to comfort me.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Okay, so I'm guessing you all can probably see where this is going with him. I'm hoping though that this brand new plan makes the story a little bit more interesting for him, as Brooke's new baby will make it on her view. I don't plan on doing too much with this little tid bit I threw in there last minute, but I do think I am going to use it to get others to bring Lucas to his senses…if you know what I mean…**_

_**So go ahead and review and I will post the next chapter as soon as I have it finished. Thanks everyone!**_


	25. TWENTY THREE

_**TWENTY THREE**_

Nevaeh Faith Davis-Scott…that's what I called her. It was the perfect name for her, I thought. I mean what other name would suit my angel, my little piece of heaven, than heaven spelled backwards? Well…I thought it was perfect anyway.

And not only did the name fit what she felt like to me, but she even looked like heaven to me. She was truly the most beautiful, sweet baby girl I had ever seen or held in my arms before. She was so very tiny, but I loved that about her. I loved to touch and smell her beautiful, smooth skin, and run my fingers gently over her small soft head, where she already had quite a bit of beautiful, dark hair. And her eyes…oh, her eyes!

They were so gorgeous. Fierce, sparkling, and blue, her eyes were just like her father's. When I stared into those lovely blue eyes of hers, I couldn't help but smile, or tear up a little as I saw Lucas in her. As much as it broke my heart to think about Lucas, I couldn't tear my eyes away from his daughter, from our baby girl. She was too beautiful and it felt too amazing holding her in my arms to ever let her go.

As much as I had been excited to finally get to meet and hold my baby girl, Haley had been really excited too.

"God, is she beautiful…" Haley said as she'd held Nevaeh in the hospital a few hours after she'd been born.

I smiled at her and my daughter. "I know. She's gorgeous."

"You know she looks like him," Haley said and she looked at me.

My smile faded and I said, "Yeah, I know. Every part of her looks like him ,everything but her hair. And it sucks, but….I don't even care, really, because she is just so beautiful."

I touched her tiny head and Haley smiled again. It grew quiet again between us for a minute. But as she passed Nevaeh back to me, Haley said, "So I know you said you weren't ready before, that you didn't want him to know you were pregnant, but…now that you're not anymore, now that she is here…have you decided when you're going to tell Lucas he has a daughter?"

I looked away from Haley then, pretending I was thinking about my answer. But really, I already knew what I was going to do.

"Haley…" I started. "Please don't hate me for this, but um…I don't think I am going to tell him?"

"What? But Brooke, you…"

"I know, Haley. I know that I should tell him, but I can't. I can't tell him that he has a daughter, not after I lied to him about being pregnant, and—"

"Whoa, whoa…wait a second," Haley waved a hand in the air to stop me. "I thought you didn't know you were pregnant when you got to New York?"

"I didn't, but apparently I was when I told Lucas I wasn't right after your vow renewal with Nathan. So if I told Lucas about the baby now, he's going to think I lied to him then."

"Well, you can always tell him the truth, Brooke…about that and about everything. I know he would listen to you. He loves you, Brooke…and he misses you…so much. He's not with Peyton anymore, Brooke…they broke up."

I stared at Haley then, wondering if what she was saying was really true, or if she was just telling me that so I would feel guilty or something so that I would be convinced to tell Lucas about his daughter. My heart wanted to believe her, wanted right then to pick up that phone on the table next to me and call him, just so I called hear all that from him so that I would know for sure if it were true. But my brain, for once, took charge over my heart and told me that it couldn't be true. Lucas had chose Peyton, not once, but twice, and to me, that meant that they were meant for each other.

So I shook my head and said, "Well, it doesn't even matter now, anyway."

"Why not, Brooke? You still love him, don't you?"

I didn't answer her. She knew I didn't need too. She could read the answer in my face, and I knew she could. Thankfully, though, she didn't press me too much more on the subject of my telling Lucas.

"Look…I don't think I'm ever going to understand why you don't think you can tell him, but I'm going to honor my promise to you, as much trouble as it undoubtedly will get me into one day. But I told you to be true to your heart, so I guess that's what you're doing."

She shoved me playfully then. "God, you're so damn stubborn, Brooke! I hope that little girl doesn't inherit that same stubbornness."

I laughed and looked down at my daughter again.

While my conversation about Lucas and the baby had ended for Haley and I then, it hadn't been over for good. For when Chase had returned home from his trip to California, he'd started again, a similar conversation with me.

"She's gorgeous, Brooke," Chase said with a smile, as he held Neveah in my apartment after he and Amanda had gotten home on the second, which had also happened to be the same day I got to bring Neveah home.

I smiled as I sat next to him on my sofa. "Thank you."

"She looks just like you," Amanda said, as she sat on the other side of Chase and stared at my sleeping baby girl.

"Funny," I said as I pulled my feet up to sit Indian style on the couch. "Cause all I see in her is her father."

Chase smiled up at me again. He looked back at Neveah and said, "I think maybe this little girl wants to check out her new nursery."

"Oh, can I take her?" Amanda asked, looking at me. "I can change her and put her down for you, Brooke."

"Oh, you don't have to, Mandy, I can do it."

"Oh, please let me. I want to. I used to take care of my niece for my sister back home, and I like to reminisce now and then."

I laughed. "Okay."

She took Neveah from Chase and walked down the hall.

"Good," Chase said. "Now we can talk."

"Yeah," I said. "Tell me about California."

"I will," he said. "Later. First, we need to talk about Lucas."

I sighed then. "Come on, Chase. You're not going to do this to me too, are you? I already had this conversation with Haley."

"But you haven't had it with me, so you're going to again. When are you going to tell him about her?"

"I'm not," I said bluntly and I stood up quickly and made my way over to the kitchen.

"What?" Chase said as he followed me over. "Brooke, you have to tell him."

"No, I don't." I pulled a bottled water from the fridge.

"Brooke, you can't keep this from him. You can't keep Lucas' daughter from him."

"Yes…I can. He didn't even know I was pregnant and I haven't talked to him since I left, so it'll be really easy."

"Brooke…" He looked at me like he'd never really looked at me before, so…disappointed. "How can you do that to him?"

"Funny…" I said, trying to show how guilty and wrong I was feeling inside with my decision. "I asked him the same question when he cheated on me and broke my heart…twice."

I turned away from Chase then and walked back to the living room. Again, Chase followed and sat next to me on the couch again.

"Okay," he started again. "I know that Lucas broke your heart. And I know that you are still trying to get over that, but…you're a mom now, Brooke. Don't you think you should start thinking about what's right for your daughter?"

"Yes, of course I do. And that's exactly what I'm doing by not telling him about her."

"Brooke…Nevaeh deserves to have a father in her life. She deserves to know who her father is. Don't tell Lucas about her for him or for you, Brooke, do it for your daughter."

"I can't, Chase! I can't tell him. Do you have any idea how not right for her it would be if I told Lucas?"

"No, actually, I don't. I'm really confused as to your logic, Brooke."

I sighed again and tried to explain what I was thinking, what had brought me to the decision to not tell Lucas. "Look…I know that Vaeh has every right to know her father and grow up with a father, and I want that for her more than anything. But she deserves to have a father who will be there for her for her whole life. She deserves a father who won't ever hurt her or leave her because he suddenly realizes he's in love with someone else who isn't her mother. I don't want her to get hurt like I did, Chase. I want her to have a father who will always be there and take care of her no matter what. And if I told Lucas, I know that he would be there for her, but…I would never know for how long. Whenever he's been with me…he's always left. And I can't take that risk again, not with my daughter to think about now. I'm not just protecting my own heart anymore…I'm protecting Nevaeh's."

I guess Chase had finally begun to understand why I had been so against calling Lucas to tell him. He gave me a hug after my big speech and told me he was sorry he'd been pressuring me so much to tell Lucas. He didn't understand before. I told him it was okay, and then I tried to bring our visit to a happier note by telling him I wanted him to be Nevaeh's godfather. He got all excited and we hugged again. And finally, I thought, I was done being pressured to tell Lucas. And hopefully…I would never have to face that again.

_**Okay…there it is. This chapter was really hard for me to write. I had a tough time thinking of what to write, but I finally got it together. Please tell me what you think now. The next chapter will be Lucas again, and I think it might have Nathan and Haley coming home and talking to him. But after that, There's going to be a definite time jump. Not sure how much, yet…but I'm really anxious to get to the brucas stuff, as I'm sure you all are too! So go ahead and review and I will update as soon as I can. Thanks!**_


	26. TWENTY FOUR

**_Here we go again guys…another Lucas chapter. Keep in mind, that what's going on with Lucas is either happening at the same time as what is going on with Brooke, or is happening around the same time. I hope that isn't too confusing, but if you don't understand what I'm saying after you read the chapter, send me a message and I will explain what I mean. Be sure to review anyway and let me know what you think. Thanks!_**

_**TWENTY FOUR**_

So it had been a very lonely night for me…well, before the beers, actually. After the third or fourth one, I finally began to escape the pain of being alone and missing Brooke. And so I had a few more, hoping to be rid of the pain completely, for a little while anyway. But I regretted every drink when I woke from my binge.

All I can remember is waking up with a horrible headache, made worse by Haley smacking really hard on the back of my head.

"Are you an idiot?" accompanied the smack.

"Ow!" I said, rubbing my head as I sat up on my couch. I looked up and saw Haley and Nathan standing over me behind the couch. Haley had had her arms crossed and was glaring at me. "What the hell, Haley?"

"Good question, Lucas," she said, walking around the couch. "I was just going to use the same question on you. Oh…I think I still will."

She reached over and smacked my head again.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Lucas Scott?"

"Damn it, Haley!" I yelled, massaging my head again. "That hurts you know!"

"Good. It's supposed to. You got trashed last night?"

"Try the last two nights," I mumbled. She went to smack me again, but I stood up quickly. "Don't hit me again. You're really starting to piss me off."

"Yeah, well, I am pissed off, Lucas…at you. Is this all you've been doing since we've been gone…drinking?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Why, Luke?" Nathan asked me, setting the carrier on the floor.

"Because…I felt like it."

I plopped down on the couch again.

"No…." Haley started again. "I know you, and you don't drink like that without a reason."

I glanced at her without saying anything and she continued, her arms still crossed.

"I think…you drank because you were alone on New Year's Eve, and you were hating yourself for not coming with us to see Brooke. I'm right, aren't I?"

I sighed and leaned back in the couch.

"Well, I am certainly not going to sit back and watch, or let you, rather, become some lonely hermit alkie."

"Neither am I," Nathan said as he walked around the couch and sat across from me on top of the coffee table. "We care about you too much, Luke."

"We love you, Lucas, " Haley said, touching my knee after she had sat down next to me. "And so does Brooke, whether you choose to believe me or not. And I know she would never want to see you like this…passed out in the morning with seven or eight empty beer bottles surrounding you. What are you trying to do to yourself, Lucas?"

"Nothing." I paused. "It's like you said…I was lonely and without Brooke, angry at myself for chickening out and not going with you, and I guess…I don't know. I guess I was just trying to escape the pain."

"By drinking?" Nathan chimed in again. "That's a bad move, Luke. You know drinking doesn't make the pain go away. In fact, it tends to make the pain even worse. The only way you're going to ever be able to get rid of that pain you're feeling is by confronting the source of it."

I nodded then. I knew he was right, but I still didn't feel like I could do anything. I felt still like I had no right to do anything, and that…was a large part of my broken heart. And besides that, I remembered, according to Haley, Brooke had moved on.

"Why don't you call Brooke, Lucas?" Haley asked after a minute. "Or better yet, why don't you go visit her? I can give you her address. It's not too late."

Yes it is, I thought.

"You can still visit her, Luke. You can talk to her and see how she's doing, or—"

"Right," I interrupted her then. "I can already see how that conversation will go. 'Hey, Brooke. It's Lucas. Just called to see how you're doing, what you've been up to.' And then she'd say: 'Oh, Lucas…wow, you shouldn't of called. I asked you not to contact me, to just let me go. And by the way, I've moved on.'"

Haley sighed. "Look. Lucas, I was wrong about that when I told you she had moved on. She is still in love with you."

"Yeah….sure."

"Well, then go to New York and find out for yourself, Lucas. You know, you've still got a couple of weeks before classes start again. Why don't you take a chance and just go visit her?"

I didn't answer right away. I thought about it, though…I truly did. I thought maybe they were right. In fact, I knew they were right…about my pain, not about Brooke still being in love with me. Nathan was right in telling me that I wouldn't feel better until I confronted my feelings unti li confronted Brooke. But then I let my cowardice and fear take over again.

"I can't," I said, shaking my head and I heard them both sigh as they looked at one another. "I just…I'm not ready, okay? I can't even think of what I would say to her right now."

"Well, that will come to you when you get there, Luke," Haley said. "But first you have to take that chance and go."

I shook my head again. "I can't, okay? I'm just….I'm not ready to take that chance."

"Well, you're going to have to take it sooner or later, Luke," Nathan said. "If you want Brooke back."

"I know. I just need some more time…so I can figure things out."

Haley sighed again and threw her hands up in the air as she stood up and walked away from me, I watching her.

"You do whatever you've got to do, Luke," Nathan said and I looked at him again. "But the longer you wait, the harder it is going to be to finally get up the nerve and just do it."

I nodded before he, too, stood up and walked away. He'd had a point then. The longer I waited, the harder it would get for me to muster the courage to talk to Brooke. So if I didn't go see Brooke then, when would I? If I didn't tell Brooke how I felt then, would I ever?

_**Okay…there it is. Let me know what you think. Here's a heads up on what's to come: With the next Brooke chapter, Chapter 25, you will see that some time has fast forwarded a few months. That's so I can move the story along a bit and get to that back seen you've all been waiting for (don't get too excited yet…it's not happening in the next two chapters, but it is happening soon, I promise) So now go ahead and review and I will ud soon )**_


	27. TWENTY FIVE

**_FINALLY!!!! TWENTY FIVE IS HERE!!!! LOL! So are you ready for it? The surprise guest? Hopefully, you haven't seen it coming, and hopefully you'll be like "Whoa! Or Wow or something when you read it. LOL anyway, let me know what you think._**

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_**TWENTY-FIVE**_

It really amazed me how fast time went by, especially when I had been so busy and exhausted. That's exactly what I had become after Nevaeh was born. I was so busy juggling school, work and my new role as mom. And it became so exhausting, especially since Vaeh hadn't really started sleeping through the night until she was like six months old. But as tired and busy as she had made me, nothing mattered more to me than how wonderful and excited my daughter had made me feel.

I became so in love with being a mother. I loved to feed Nevaeh and bathe her too. I loved dressing her, playing with her, and just holding her in my arms. Any moment spent with my daughter was a moment I cherished more than anything. I loved being her mother more than anything. And it had come a lot easier than I'd expected too.

Before Vaeh had come along, I had been so afraid that I couldn't do it, that I would screw everything up. But I didn't. I was surprised at how easy it had been for me to care for my daughter…to feed her, change her and bathe her. Everything about her had made everything that I had to do for her really easy to do. Almost everything had been easy for me to handle…almost.

The only real hard part about Nevaeh was realizing that I was depriving her of a life with her father. I could have told Lucas about her, and he would have been in her life. He would have come to New York to be in her life and take care of her. But I hadn't told him because I was selfish.

Before Nevaeh was born, I had decided I wasn't going to tell Lucas about her because I didn't want her to be the only reason he came back into my life. I'd wanted him to come back because he wanted too. Really, I'd wanted him to come back because he wanted not just his daughter, but me too. Like I said, I'd been selfish before Nevaeh was born. I thought only about my feelings and what I wanted. But after she was born, I started thinking and doing more based around what was right for here, even when it came to Lucas.

I had convinced myself, Haley and Chase that I was doing best by Nevaeh by not telling Lucas because I was saving her from the heartbreak her father had caused me. But the more I was with Vaeh, the more days I spent with her and got to know her and fall in love with her wonderful personality, the more I began to realize that by trying to protect Nevaeh from her father's history of heartbreaking, I was also hurting her because I was keeping her from having the love her father would have undoubtedly had for and given to her.

My decision not to tell Lucas about Nevaeh played on my mind for months. I still struggled with whether or not I was doing the right thing, keeping Nevaeh from Lucas, and keeping Lucas from her. But I tried to live everyday like I was anyway. Lucas had his own life now, a life without me. And so Nevaeh and I would have our own life too…without him.

I tried, though, to make up for excluding Lucas from Nevaeh's life. I tried to make up for it by being the best mother to her that I could be. I did everything for her that I was supposed to do, as well as spend extra time with her on days when I had to leave her with a nanny. And I really tried making up for Lucas being absent by allowing Chase to care for her when I couldn't. He didn't mind, seeing as he was her godfather, but…he still felt I should tell Lucas about his daughter, and still believed Lucas would be there for both of us, not just Nevaeh. He hadn't been the only one who felt that way either.

Actually, everyone pretty much believed Lucas was still in love with me, and would therefore be there for me, if I would just tell him about her already. But I couldn't help wondering often…if they were right, if Lucas was still in love with me, why hadn't he just come or called or written me to tell me that yet? Yep…everyone I knew who knew about Nevaeh and my history with Lucas felt the same way about the situation. It surprised me, and at the same time, frustrated me, how soon I began to think that maybe they were right. But what had surprised me (and frustrated me) the most, was realizing this after someone else, someone I never expected to hear from ever again in my life, told me that it wasn't too late for me to tell Lucas…that it was in fact, probably, perfect timing.

I day the realization came to me had started out just like any other day for me. I'd woken up early with Nevaeh to feed her, change her and dress her. And then, while she fell asleep again in her crib, I quickly jumped in the shower. I got dressed and everything and I was ready by the time Amy, the nanny, arrived. I left Vaeh with Amy for a few hours until Chase could come and take over after his morning class, one of the few classes he had signed up to take during the summer.

While I'd known Nevaeh was safe and okay with Amy, Chase and maybe even Amanda at some point, I'd still worried about her the entire time I was at work, and pretty much all day really. I worried about whether or not I had packed enough diapers and formula for her, if she would be warm enough, or too warm, in the outfit I'd dressed her in, or if I'd remembered to put her diaper rash cream, her blanket, monkey, pacifier, and extra clothes in her bag. And then I decided that if I had forgotten anything, Chase or Mandy could just go back to the apartment and get it. Oh, but then I panicked and wondered if I'd remembered to leave the key under the mat.

Anyway, I was pretty panicked and paranoid all day, and also dying just to be home and holding my baby girl. Some people at work told me I was being too overprotective and paranoid about Nevaeh and things, but I just figured that it was natural still, considering I was a single mom with a six month old. It was a lot harder to handle than people thought it was…believe me.

Anyway, back to the day…I was really excited and relieved when it was finally time for me to go home. So I'd clocked out, grabbed my things and caught a cab home, hoping to get home as fast as I could in New York City (not very fast, by the way). But I rode home with a smile the entire ride because I knew I would feel so much better once I was holding my little Vaeh in my arms. So it can be pretty well understood how disappointed and sad it had been for me to come home and find that no one was there waiting with Nevaeh for me yet. Instead, I found just a simple note for me on the counter in Chase's handwriting.

**_Brooke—_**

_**I got called into work, so I left Vaeh with Amanda. Hope that's okay. She took her to work with her at the daycare center, but she should be home and bringing Vaeh back to you around 5:30. I'll call you after I get off.**_

_**Chase**_

I'd kind of sighed and sunk down on the stool as I'd read his note. I had to wait another half hour before I could see my daughter. What was I going to do to pass the time? Nevaeh had become my only source of fun and comfort, so anyone can imagine how bored I must have been waiting.

Thankfully, though, the time hadn't passed too slowly, and before I knew it, there was a knocking on the door. I smiled and jumped up from the couch when I'd heard it. I knew my baby girl just had to be on the other side with Amanda (since everyone else I knew was working), so the smile had stayed with me as I pulled the door open. But the second I saw _**her**_ standing on the opposite side…my smile quickly disappeared.

"Peyton?"

**_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_**

_**Okay, so have at it! Yell, scream, curse, scold…do whatever you've got to do to get out your frustrations or whatever, just as long as you send me a review too! LOL Was anyone surprised by this visitor? I hope so, but tell me anyway. You will see the rest of this play out in Chapter 27. Coming up next, though, it is Lucas again, happening right around the same time as this, maybe before. You'll understand better when u read it. I have to go write it now though, so please review. I work tomorrow, but have a free weekend, so hopefully I can get some writing done! Thanks guys!**_

_**-Maureen**_


	28. TWENTY SIX

**_Okay guys, chapter 26 is ready to go. Unfortunately, you still have to wait to find out what happens with Brooke and Peyton, but I think you may enjoy this chapter too while you wait. Now, the way I have written it, the stuff going on with Lucas in this chapter is happening before Peyton shows up to Brooke's in New York. In Brooke's chapter, it's June, and in this chapter, it is still January. I hope that makes sense, but if it doesn't, feel free to ask me what I mean. And be sure to review after you read this (: Thanks (:_**

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_**TWENTY SIX**_

So my binge drinking over New Year's had resulted in not only a lecture from Nathan and Haley upon their return from their trip, but also one from Peyton upon her return. She had gone to see Nathan and Haley first, so Haley, of course, as pissed as she'd been at me, had told Peyton everything.

"Are you an idiot, Luke?" Peyton asked as soon as I'd opened the door after she'd knocked.

I sighed and walked away.

"Nice to see you too, Peyton," I'd said. "Welcome back. Happy New Year, by the way."

Peyton closed the door and followed me over to the couch as she came back at me with, "According to Haley, it was a very drunk and hung over New Year's for you. So again, I repeat…are you an idiot?"

"Yes," I said, sinking down into the couch. "I've already established this with Nathan and Haley. I don't need the same lecture from you."

"Well, too bad, cause you're going to get it anyway. What were you thinking drinking so much in one night like that Lucas? You're lucky you're not dead."

"I know, Peyton. I know. I was just lonely, really lonely and hurting that night, and I hated feeling that way on New Year's, so I found a way to escape it for the night and I took it. I'm not going to do it again. I promise."

Peyton nodded. She sat down next to me.

"Okay," she said. "But you are going to call Brooke, though, right?"

I looked away without answering.

"God, you really are an idiot." Peyton said when I didn't answer. "Lucas, you can be happy if you want to be. You can get rid of your pain if you want to…safely and without drinking it away. All you have to do is pick up the damn phone, or a pen, or a plane ticket or something."

"I already told you, I can't do that, Peyton. I'm not ready."

"No…you're just scared. You're scared the Brooke won't return the letter, or that she will hang up on you or slam the door in your face if you try to get in touch with her. But you don't even know how she feels now, Lucas. Maybe she feels differently than she did when she left. Maybe she wants the same thing you want."

I shook my head. "No…she doesn't. If she really wanted what I want, she wouldn't have told me to forget about her. She would have tried to maintain some kind of contact with me since she left."

"Yeah, well, if you really wanted what you want, you would have contacted her since she left."

I sighed again in annoyance, and then I said, "I tried to, Peyton. I wrote her a letter."

"Yes…you wrote her a letter, but you never sent her the letter."

I looked away again.

"It's not too late, Lucas," Peyton continued. "You can still send that letter. All you need is a stamp."

Slowly, I shook my head. "She won't even read it."

"You don't know that, Luke. And you never will know unless you send the damn letter already."

I twiddled with my cell phone in my hands, flipping the top open and closed as I listened to Peyton.

"At least consider it, Luke. Seriously consider it. And when I say consider it, I mean actually lick the stamp, stick it on and walk the letter to the mailbox. Maybe taking the steps to do it will help you decide."

I nodded again, but I think Peyton knew I was still standing strong on my decision not to send the letter. She sighed and touched my hand.

"Look," she said. "I wouldn't push you so much on this if I didn't care about you Luke. None of us would. All we want is for you to be happy. And me…I would really like to see you at least on your way to being happy before I leave."

I quickly turned my head back to her.

"Leave?" I said. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…I'm leaving. I'm moving down to Savannah after this semester is over."

"For Jake?" I wondered.

"Partly, yes. I mean he's my biggest reason for moving down there. We're trying to get to know each other again and we want to try and give us another chance, and it will be much easier for us to do that if we live closer together. And since Jake is , for the time being, still sharing custody of Jenny with Nikki and her parents, he can't really move back here. So I'm going to go stay down there for awhile, at least while I finish school."

"That's great, Peyton," I said. "I'm happy you two are going to work things out, but what about school? I mean, where are you going to study now?"

"The Savannah College of Art and Design. It's a really amazing school and I've dreamed of going there since I first heard about it. I'm going to enroll in summer classes when I get down there in June."

"Wow, you've really planned this all out already, haven't you?"

Peyton smiled as she nodded. "I have."

I nodded too.

"Good," I said. "I'm really glad you're happy Peyton."

"Thanks. I am happy, Luke. And you can be too, you know."

I stared right into her green eyes as she finished, "Whether you think so or not, you deserve to be happy too. It's up to you Lucas. You're the only one in control of your happiness and your life. So if you want to be happy, all you have to do is allow yourself to be."

What Peyton said was true. I was in control of my own happiness. And as she and the others had figured out, I hadn't thought I deserved to be happy. Or rather, I didn't think I deserved to be happy with Brooke. I wanted to be, but I didn't think I had any right to be after how much I had hurt her.

As convinced and believing as my friends and family were that I didn't, I didn't believe I deserved a second chance. As far as I was concerned, and as obvious as Brooke had made it for me in her long absence with absolutely no contact, I'd used up and run out of any and all chances I'd ever had with the love of my life, Brooke Davis.


	29. TWENTY SEVEN

**_Hey guys! Are you ready to find out what happened between Brooke and Peyton? Well, I hope you are cuz you are about to find out. Please be sure to review after you read and I will have the next chapter up as soon as I can. I need to try and get more written for Through Thick & Thin since I've been stuck on it. Anyway, here goes…._**

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_**TWENTY-SEVEN**_

When I'd opened the door that day in early June, I was expecting Amanda to be on the other side with my daughter. Instead, I'd found Peyton standing there in the hallway.

"Peyton," I'd said when I saw her.

She smiled at me politely and returned with, "Hey, Brooke. Long time, no see."

I nodded slowly, still surprised and completely shocked to see her standing there in front of me when I had been certain that I would never see her again.

"Yeah…" I said as I nodded. "What, um…what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by and see how you're doing."

I stared at her. _She was in the neighborhood? _Was she seriously trying to joke around with me like we were friends? We hadn't seen each other in a year, but I didn't think she would honestly forget about why we weren't friends anymore in the first place.

"Okay," Peyton said after a moment of awkward silence. "So I wasn't just in the neighborhood. I'm on my way to Savannah, but I wanted to come here first, so I got your address from Haley."

"Why?"

"Well…" She paused and as I watched her, it seemed like she was about as nervous as I was as she tried to find her words. "Because I miss my old friend, Brooke. Even though we haven't been friends or spoken to each other in over a year, I've still missed you, even if you haven't missed me."

I still stared at her, now feeling kind of bad for being so harsh with her about Lucas and her betrayal. Although, a part of me, the stubborn, angry, and hurt part of me, still felt that my ending our friendship the way I did was justice for what she had done to me.

"Look," Peyton spoke again. "I can tell that you don't really want me to be here right now, or at all, but…all I want is to talk. Please…can you just give me ten minutes?"

The broken part of me wanted so badly to just tell her no, to just say something really mean and slam the door in her face. But the new mom in me didn't want that, because she wouldn't want her daughter to become mean and revenging if she ever got hurt like I had. So the new Brooke that I'd become following the birth of my daughter wanted to give Peyton a chance again, at least the chance to talk that she had come all the way to New York to beg for. And also, that new Brooke in me was consulting with a part of the old Brooke too, the lonely part of the old Brooke who missed Peyton a little too.

So the new Brooke won the argument, and I nodded and stepped aside to allow Peyton to enter the apartment. Peyton smiled as she'd entered, and she waited for me as I closed the door. I caught her eyes looking around the apartment, most likely at the things that seemed odd and out of place to be in my apartment, like the highchair in the kitchen, playpen put away in the corner, and the Fisher Price spinning saucer in the living room.

"You can sit down if you want," I offered, walking in front of her and distracting her wandering eyes before she noticed too much.

"Thanks," she said as she walked over to the couch.

I walked slowly behind her and sat down on the shorter couch as Peyton sat down on the longer couch across from it. She looked up at me and she forced a smile in her nervousness.

"I see you got your hair cut," she said, sparking conversation. "It looks nice short."

_Thanks, I thought I'd try something new, _was what the new me wanted to reply. But the old Brooke, the Brooke that still felt so betrayed by her, wanted to just cut to the chase and find out exactly why she'd come. And I'd wanted to find out and get her out of my apartment before Amanda arrived with Vaeh.

"Look, Peyton," I said. "I'm really not into the small talk right now, so if you can just get to what you came here for, that'd be great."

Slowly, Peyton nodded. "Okay, well…"

Another knock on the door stalled her. I glanced anxiously at the door. It had to be Amanda and Nevaeh on the other side. And I wanted to rush over there and open the door so I could see my little girl. I'd been so anxious to see her all day, but I didn't want Peyton to find out about her and risk Lucas finding out about Vaeh from Peyton. So when I'd hear Amanda knocked, I wished that she would just go away and come back in like fifteen twenty minutes, after I knew for sure Peyton would be long gone. But I knew she wasn't going to go away, and I couldn't just let her stand out there waiting. So I stood up and went over to the door.

"Hey," I said with a smile when I saw Amanda and my baby girl.

"Hi," Amanda said with her own smile as she stepped inside the apartment holding not only Vaeh, but her car seat and diaper bag. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was horrible."

"Well, we do live in New York," I said, glancing at Peyton as Amanda set down the car seat with the diaper bag inside. She was watching us, I could tell. And she was probably putting the pieces together, especially as Nevaeh reached for me and I took her in my arms and kissed her head.

"Thanks for watching her," I said, smoothing the dark, soft hair on my daughter's little round head.

"Sure," Amanda returned. "Anytime."

She glanced at Peyton and smiled and waved.

"Okay," she said, turning toward the door again. "I'll let you get back to your company."

I followed her over to the door again.

"Oh, hey," she said as she opened the door. "Chase reminded me to ask you if you need either one of us to watch her tomorrow?"

"No," I answered, giving up on trying to keep Peyton from figuring out who I was now. "I have the weekend off, but maybe we can all get together and have lunch or something?"

"Yeah, that'll be fun."

"I'll call you."

"Okay."

I closed the door behind Amanda while I still had Vaeh on my hip. I turned and looked back at Peyton and forced a smile. I knew she was watching me as I walked back to the sofa and lowered my baby into the spinning saucer. I ran my hand over her soft head again as she started to bang a rattle on her tray. I stepped back and sat down again. Finally, I looked up at Peyton again.

She was still staring at Nevaeh when she said, "She's beautiful, Brooke."

"Thanks," I said, glancing at my daughter again as she stuck her rattle in her mouth while making gurgling noises.

"What's her name?" Peyton asked, looking at me again.

"Nevaeh," I answered. I went with the nice, pleasantness we had going and smiled. "I know what you're thinking, and I didn't just think of some random, weird name and stick her with it. It's heaven spelled backwards and there's reason behind my choosing that name for her."

Peyton laughed. "No, it's pretty. I like it. That's all I was thinking about it."

"Sure," I said with a smile.

For a few seconds or so, it seemed like we were friends again, the way we used to be. And then Peyton asked the question I knew, but hoped she wouldn't, bring up.

"She's, um…she's Lucas', isn't she?"

As my smile faded, I had wanted so much to think of a lie to tell her, or at least the Brooke in me had wanted to think of a lie. I wanted to lie and tell her that Chase or someone I knew in New York was Vaeh's father. But then, the new Brooke in me, the Brooke that had begun to fell so guilty and wrong over the past six months for keeping my daughter from her father, realized that a lie would just make everything worse, not just for Nevaeh and myself, but for anyone else I involved in it. So the new Brooke in me answered in complete honesty.

"Yeah," I said nodding. "It's pretty obvious, though, isn't it? I mean she got my hair and my stubbornness and attitude, but her eyes, her nose and her smile all give Lucas away, don't they?"

"How old is she?" Peyton asked.

"Six months."

Peyton nodded and went on with her questions. "So…is she why you left Tree Hill so soon?"

I shook my head. "Believe it or not, I didn't even know I was pregnant when I left. But when I got here, I started feeling real dizzy and sick to my stomach. I thought it was just nerves, but then I realized I'd skipped, and then the next thing I knew I was three months pregnant."

"Wow…that must have been quite a shocker, huh?"

"Yeah…"I said, nodding. "It changed my life."

"Brooke…" Peyton started again, and I could tell another big question was coming. "How come you never called and told Lucas about her?"

"Well," I said, starting to feel the need to defend myself. "Not that I owe you any kind of explanation, but I didn't tell, and haven't told, Lucas about her because I didn't want to disrupt his life like that. When I left, he was happy with his college plans and with you. And all that would have changed if I'd told him."

"Yeah…he would've been there for you, Brooke. And not just for the baby. He would be here for you too. He loves you, Brooke."

"Right," I snickered. "That must have been his reason for cheating on me with you, and probably why he opened his heart to you and never to me."

"Look. I know it is hard for you to believe after everything that happened, but—"

"You mean, after you and him screwed around behind my back?"

The old Brooke had pushed her way through, hoping to stick it to Peyton. But she sighed and went on.

"But Lucas is still in love with you. He never stopped loving you, Brooke. He just got lost, but his heart is still with you."

"So what about the two of you then?"

"Like I said…his heart is still with you. And my heart is still with Jake. We've been…reconnecting for awhile now, and I'm moving down to Savannah to be with him and Jenny. But Lucas' heart has always been with you, like mine has always been with Jake. We both were just…I don't know, afraid I guess. Lucas loves you so much, Brooke. He wants to be a part of your life again."

"Well, then where is he? Shouldn't he be the one telling me all this?"

"Yeah, he should. And I've tried to get him too, we all have. But he's scared, Brooke. He thinks he doesn't have a right to ask for another chance."

"Well, he did blow the first two."

"Come on, Brooke. He is not the only one scared. Haley told me you're still in love with him too."

"Of course she did," I muttered. "I love her, but she can't keep her mouth shut can she?"

"Well, obviously she can. Lucas has no idea he has a daughter, so she must be doing a pretty good job…protecting your secret at the expense of losing her best friend."

I didn't respond to that. I merely looked down and swallowed in my guilt.

"Look," Peyton started again. "All I'm saying is Lucas is truly, still in love with you. And you know how damn stubborn he is. He's scared and a complete idiot, especially when it comes to you. But he really does love you, Brooke. He never stopped."

I looked down at Nevaeh again and her eyes caught mine. I saw Lucas in her again when she looked at me. I looked up at Peyton again and finally responded.

"Even if all that is true, Peyton…I still can't tell him how I feel. And I can't tell him about Nevaeh. Right now, if I told him about her and he did come back, it would feel to me like she is the only reason he came back into my life. And, as selfish as I know it is, it would hurt me too much, him coming back only for her. And I just…I can't let her be the only reason."

"Well, how about you let your heart and his heart be the reason? Why can't you just let love be the reason?"

I hesitated before I answered. Thinking and talking this much about Lucas was breaking my heart again and I felt the tears creep up. Softly, I whispered, "Because, Peyton…it's not my turn. He has to be the one to make it right now. I mean what the hell does he think I've been waiting for over the past year? I gave him the letter, Peyton. I gave him a letter expressing to him exactly how I feel about him before I left. And I've waited to get something from him, but still I've heard absolutely nothing from him."

Peyton nodded, a sympathetic and understanding nod I think.

"It's kind of ironic," she said. "He thinks he is supposed to wait for you."

"Yeah, well he has always thought that." I folded my arms. "It's almost always been me who came to him. It's his turn now. If he loves me, if he truly loves me and really wants me, I have to hear it from him…no one else. It's the only way I'll ever know. And I can't spend the rest of my life waiting either."

Peyton nodded. "And we have all told him that. He's just…he's just so stubborn. You both are so stubborn."

"Maybe," I said, leaning forward in my chair again. "But I can't risk my heart anymore, Peyton. It's still healing, and…

I reached over and touched Vaeh's head again, running my hand along the back as I finished, "I've got a daughter to think about now."

Peyton nodded and our conversation ended shortly thereafter. When it did, I lifted Vaeh out of the saucer and walked Peyton to the door.

"Before I go," Peyton said when she stepped into the hallway. "I have something that belongs to you."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a white, thick envelope. She handed it to me, and I asked, "What's this?"

"It's a letter from Lucas."

I quickly looked up as Peyton explained. "He doesn't know I took it, but I felt like I needed to bring it to you since none of can convince him to send it. And I know you still want to hear from him personally how he feels, I thought maybe this would help you see a little better about how he really feels. And you deserve to know how he feels, even if he doesn't think he deserves the chance to tell you. He wrote the letter awhile ago, I think shortly after he read your letter, but he could never bring himself to send it. But…I hope that maybe, in some way or another, this can help both of you."

I nodded as Nevaeh tried pulling the envelope away from me. I stared at Peyton a minute, seeing her in a new light, a light shining an old friend who was trying to make amends for her betrayal, and trying harder than she ever had before.

"Thanks, Peyton," I said. "Oh, and about Vaeh…"

"I won't tell him," she said before I could finish. "I promise. Your secret is safe with me."

_Wow, _I thought. _She really was trying to make things right between us again. _And she wasn't finished either.

"Hey," she said. "I know that you don't consider me your friend anymore, and that we haven't been friends in a really long time, and that we can never be like we were before, but…I still hope that someday we can be friends in some way again, at least the kind of friends who talk on the phone or something more often."

She turned then and began her descent down the hall toward the elevator.

"Peyton," I said, stepping out into the hall. Peyton turned and we maintained eye contact. "Don't give up. "We'll get there…someday."

I smiled and Peyton smiled too. She nodded and waved before walking away. After she left, I realized how happy I actually was to have had her visit. I had missed her, I realized, more than I ever thought I would. And I was surprised at how happy I'd been to have gotten to talk to her, and how easy it had been to tell her about Vaeh. I just hoped, after her visit, that I could find the same courage one day to tell Lucas about Vaeh myself.


	30. TWENTY EIGHT

_**Okay everyone…here comes the next chapter. Before you read, I just want you all to know that this chapter is actually happening before the last chapter with Brooke and Peyton happened, which I'm sure you will all figure out as you read and see what's happening in this chapter. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Okay, on to the story now and I'll let you know what's coming up at the end of the chapter.**_

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_**TWENTY EIGHT**_

So Peyton really left. She really left Tree Hill when June rolled around. It had been sad for me to see her go because it felt like I was losing another really good friend, and I knew I was going to be even more alone than I had been before. I mean I knew Haley would still be around, but…she was a lot busier than she had been before with Keith to take care of. And besides that, with Peyton leaving, it really hit me that all my friends, all the people I cared about most in my life were all moving on with their lives. They were all finding happiness.

I wanted to be happy too…I truly did. But I just couldn't seem to find courage enough to go after that happiness I so desperately wanted like Peyton and Haley both told me to. I don't know why, after so many months, I still couldn't get over my stupid pride and fear and just talk to Brooke already. And I was aware that the longer I waited, the less chance I had that Brooke would be available, or would even talk to me. But I still didn't do a damn thing. And Peyton had even tried once more to convince me to do something before she left for Savannah.

"I am going to miss you so much!"

I stood back with Nathan on the sidewalk in front of Peyton's father's home as Haley and Peyton shared a hug and tears and said their goodbye.

"Awe…" Peyton said as they pulled out of their hug. "I'm going to miss you too, Hales. You've been a great friend…and you always will be."

"Promise?" Haley asked with a sniffle.

Peyton smiled, chuckled and said, "I promise. Come here."

They embraced once more. Then, Nathan had his goodbye to give.

"Are you sure you're ready to move down to Savannah, start a new school, and change your whole life just for a guy?"

I watched from not too far behind Nathan as Peyton smiled and said, "It's for love. It's Jake, Nathan. He's not just any guy. He's the guy. And I'll be okay down there with him and Jenny. I'll be happy."

Nathan smiled then and said, "Okay. Just as long as you'll be happy. And he'd better treat you right and stick by you this time."

"He will. I know he will. But thanks."

They too, hugged. And afterward, Nathan and Haley had to leave to get Keith from the sitter. After they were gone, Peyton looked to me and smiled.

"Okay, you," she said. "Are you finally ready to say goodbye to me?"

I shook my head. "Never."

I'd meant what I said. I didn't want her to leave. We weren't like together anymore, but she was still a good friend. She still meant something to me. And she had been keeping me company a lot in the months before that day of her move down to Savannah, and I knew that after was gone, I would have no more distraction or escape from thinking about Brooke every minute of every day I was without her.

But I hugged Peyton anyway, knowing that she was leaving, whether I wanted her to go or not, and that this move was what she wanted and would make her happier than she had been in a long time.

"I don't want you to go," I said as we pulled from our hug. "But I know this is what will make you happy. And I want you to be happy."

"Thanks. And, um…I want you to be happy too, Luke. So you think that's going to happen any time soon?"

"What? I am happy. See this smile on my face? Happy."

"Fake smile, fake happy. C'mon, Luke…be honest with me for once. Are you ever going to call Brooke again? Or at the very least, send her that letter?"

I sighed and answered honestly. "I don't know, Peyton. I don't think I can anymore."

"What? Of course you can! It just comes down to you getting over your freaking pride and your fear and actually doing it."

"I know, but I just feel like it's too late."

"Well, if it is, it's your own fault for not doing something when we all told you too. Now, I haven't spoken to Brooke in over a year either, but Haley has. And according to her, it's not too late, Luke. So why don't you just take a chance?"

_Because I don't know how…_was what I was thinking when she'd posed that question. I knew I could get over my fear and talk to Brooke by that point. And I knew that all it would take to talk to her would be a phone, a letter, or a plane ticket or full gas tank to New York, but none of those guaranteed that Brooke would actually listen to me or let me in. And that's what was holding me back. I needed to make a huge grand gesture to get Brooke to forgive me and listen to me then, and I was completely out of ideas.

So why didn't I just ask my friends for an idea? I guess because all of their ideas were simple ones, like just calling or sending a silly little letter would do justice. Also, I felt like this time, making up with Brooke, getting her to talk to me again and forgive me, had to be all up to me, every step of the way. And even though I hade made myself aware of that, I stil lhadn't thought of anything that could help me and convince me ot finally talk to or see Brooke.

"You know what," Peyton spoke after I'd been silent for a few minutes. "Never mind. I already know your answer is the same as it always is. And I don't understand it, I don't understand why you think you need to keep punishing yourself, or whatever it is you're doing by waiting. But I'm a little tired of arguing with you about it. But….I do hope that you do finally listen to us oneday…before it's too late."

I nodded. _I hope I do too, _I thought. And I hugged Peyton once more before she climbed into that old, black classic car of hers, piled with boxes and luggage. She started the engine and smiled once more at me as she said, "Well, Lucas Scott…I'll be seeing you."

I smiled and waved as she pulled away from the house and drove away. And only a few minutes later, it hit me. Peyton was gone, and I was all alone…again.

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_**Okay…you know what to do now. Go ahead and review. And while you do, I'll let you in on what's to come next.**_

_**Chapter 29 is when things are really to going to take off…this is when, if you've all read the original Boomerangs oneshot, you will see similar conversation and events taking place because I am going to use some of the original dialogue and things from the original story, but just rearrange and change it up a bit. But I think you guys are really, really, really going to enjoy every chapter from 29 until the end of the story. You so are not going to be disappointed. Can't wait to see what you think of this now, so go ahead and review and I will update as soon as I can. Thanks everyone!**_


	31. TWENTY NINE

**_Okay guys…this is the last chapter for about a week or so, as Starting Saturday, I am going on a little Harry Potter 7 vacation. LOL I am dying to find out what happens, so I have to read that book and finish it, cuz I wont be able to focus on any of my stories once I have that book in my possession. LOL. So enjoy this chapter for awhile, and I will ud as soon as I finish the book. Thanks guys, and don't forget to review!_**

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_**TWENTY NINE**_

Okay, so Peyton's visit did mean more to me than I had felt when she did drop by unexpectedly. I realized not only how much I'd missed her and our friendship, but also that there was a possibility of forgiveness within me. In fact, her visit has really opened the door to my forgiving her. And I did begin thinking that not only was forgiveness possibly, but so was friendship. And while I wasn't sure we could or would ever be friends again like we were before her and Lucas, I did try to get back to having a friendship with her by keeping in touch with her through letters and phone calls once a month after she moved down to Savannah. And with every letter and every call, I could feel my heart forgiving her more and more, and I fetl also that a good friendship was well on its way again.

Peyton's visit also, believe it or not, brought me a little hope for Lucas, and for us. Just a little hope. When she herself told me that she and Lucas had been over for awhile, I finally believed what Haley had been trying to get through to me for months. And then when Peyton gave me that letter Lucas had written me, and when I'd opened and read the letter, I felt a little better convinced that Lucas still harbored some feelings for me. And while the letter had given some insight into how Lucas might be feeling, I still wasn't entirely convinced. After all, if he truly did still love me, then why hadn't he sent me the letter himself? Why hadn't he called me, or come to visit me like everyone else had?

"Because I told him not to," I told myself when I read that letter and asked myself those questions. In the letter I'd given Lucas before I left, I'd told him not to contact me. I told him to just forget about me and move on with his life. But if he was really in love with me, if he really loved and knew me like his letter revealed he did, then he would have figured out that when I said forget about me, forget about us, I really meant fight for me, fight for us. He would have realized that and done something if he really loved me. Right?

Well…that's what I told myself anyway. And I still felt very strongly that he had to be the one to open his heart this time. He had to take the risk and come to me with his feelings. And me? Well, I could either wait for him, or really try and move on, really try and get over him…whichever came first.

And so I went on with my life after Peyton's visit (and Lucas' letter). And that's all I could do really. It's like I said, it was up to Lucas and all I could do was wait. So while I did, I moved on with that day, and the days and weeks, and even months that followed, and I enjoyed that time with my daughter. And before I knew it, another seven months passed by and it was January again.

I couldn't believe how much time had passed when Nevaeh's first birthday rolled around. And though it had felt to me like she'd been born only yesterday, I could see how grown my baby girl really was. After all, by that point, she had already taken her first steps, said her first words (which had been 'mama' and, thanks to enough slips from her godfather, 'shit'), and even caused me to have the biggest panic attack of my life when I had to rush her to the hospital because she had a fever of a hundred and one. But…I had looked forward to my little girl's first birthday, and I enjoyed that day with her, Chase and Amanda.

Just as thrilled as I'd been to see January so I could celebrate Vaeh's first birthday, I was really anxious excited for Februaryto come, as I anticipated another visit from Nathan, Haley, and of course, my godso, Keith. And I was especially anxious on the morning of the day they were supposed to arrive.

* * *

"I can't believe Nathan and Haley are coming today!" I said to Chase as I returned to the kitchen from Nevaeh's room with her in my arms. "They are actually going to be here in just a few hours. After not seeing them in a year, I'll actually get to spend like a week with them." 

Chase chuckled at me and sat on a stool at the counter as I lowered Vaeh into her high chair.

"Yeah, well I can't believe it's valentine's Day already."

I smiled at Chase as I set the bowl of Cheerios I'd poured for Vaeh on the tray of her high chair.

"You're really nervous about your big date tonight, aren't you?" I asked as I sat up on a stool next to him with my coffee. He nodded and I continued. "Well ,you have no reason to be nervous. Amanda is going to say yes, and she's going to love that ring."

Chase smiled again. "I hope so. By the way, thanks for helping me pick out the ring."

"Sure. It was my pleasure. But you had better be sure you give me every detail about tonight tomorrow, Mr."

"I will…depending on what her answer is."

"Oh, shut up!" I shoved him playfully as I climbed off the stool. "You know she's going to say yes!"

Chase laughed again, and I glanced at Vaeh as she stuck another cheerio in her little mouth. "Anyway…I've got to get a shower and get ready to head for the airport. You mind keeping an eye on her for me while I get ready?"

"Sure. I'll get her changed and dressed for you too when she's finished. It'll save you some time."

"Okay, great. I laid her clothes on the changing table. Thanks, Chase."

I kissed his cheek, ruffled Vaeh's soft, dark hair before hurrying off to the bathroom.

After Vaeh and I were both ready, I grabbed the stroller and the diaper bag, got Vaeh situated and strapped in her car seat in the car, and headed off to the airport to pick up Nathan, Haley and Keith. They were going to stay with me rather than waste time and money staying in a hotel. I told Haley over the phone the night before that I would meet her and Nathan by baggage claim. So that's where we waited, me and Nevaeh in her stroller with her pacifier and the soft, pink blanket Haley had sent her, which she absolutely loved and could go nowhere without. I could barely stand still, I was so excited to see them. I kept my eyes scanning the crowd, waiting to see them appear. And when I finally saw Haley, I smiled. I pushed the stroller ahead a little and then squealed as I met Haley's arms.

"Oh my god, Hales! I've missed you so much! You have no idea!"

"I'm sure I do," Haley said as we pilled from our embrace. "God, I can't believe it's been a year since we've seen each other."

"I know, me either."

Haley then looked over at Vaeh, kicking her little black dress shoes in her stroller. She smiled at Vaeh.

"Oh my gosh," she said as we moved over to her. "She's gotten so big, Brooke!"

"Yeah, she has," I said smiling as Haley lifted Vaeh from the stroller.

"And she's even more beautiful in person than in those adorable [ictures you've sent me."

"Ha-we," Vaeh mumbled with her pacifier in her mouth.

"Ah!" Haley squealed. "She even knows her aunt Haley!"

I laughed and then turned when I heard Nathan's voice.

"How about her uncle? She know her uncle?"

"Nate! Hi!"

I squealed excitedly as I pulled him and little Keith in a hug.

"How are you?" Nathan asked as we pulled away.

"I'm good," I answered. "I missed you guys."

I smiled at Keith then.

"Hey there, handsome," I said to him as I touched his little nose. He really was handsome too. He had beautiful, dark brown hair, just a little darker than Vaeh's, and amazing brown eyes like Haley's. And his smile was just adorable. It even reminded me of Lucas little.

I took my eighteen month old godson in my arms and said, "Wow, Hales…your little guy has gotten big too."

"Yeah, I know," Haley said smiling as she passed Vaeh to Nathan.

"He's a growing boy," Nathan said after kissing his neice's cheek.

"And ridiculously handsome," I said, still smiling as I rocked Keith on my hip.

"Just like his daddy," Haley said as she took Nathan's hand and kissed him.

I watched them with a smiled. And for a moment then, I wished Lucas were there too, just so that I could at least see him again. After all, I did miss him. I mean it did hurt me that he hadn't tried to write me or call me, but I did still miss him. And I did still love him.

Anyway, after Nathan and Haley shared their kiss, we introduced Keith and Nevaeh to each other, since they were both newborns the last time Nathan and Haley had been in New Yorl. Then, we collected their luggage, packed it all in my Jeep and then headed out to lunch.

For lunch, I took my friends to my favorite place in all of New York City, that cute, amzing café below my apartment building. Besides Karen's, it was the most wonderful café I'd ever been too. I loved taking Nevaeh there for breakfast and sometimes lunch, and to just look at all the people that came in there to just have coffee and to write. Seeing those people really reminded me of Lucas. And that was what made that café my favorite place to be, what had kept me coming back time after time. Because when I was there, I sometimes felt like I was with Lucas too.

Anyway, lunch had been great. While the kids made as mess of their food and banged their sppons and cups on the table, Nathan, Haley and I enjoyed our food and good conversation. We talked about work, school, and the kids. I told them how well work and classes were going for me, as well as how my new fashion line was coming along, the line I had started for children's clothing. And then, while no one had brought him up, I did find myself wondering how Lucas was doing in school, and whether he had finished that book of his yet.

After lunch, I showed Nathan and Haley around the city a little. Considering I went into labor and was in the hospital during their last visit, Nathan and Haley hadn't had any time for sight seeing. So I was more than happy to show them around, especially around my favorite places like my school, the boutique I worked in, the café, and of course, Central Park, my second favorite place to go in New York City.

We only got in about an hour of sight seeing though because the kids both got fusy and needed a nap. So we headed back to my apartment. I set up Vaeh's playpen up in her nursery, and Haley put Keith down there whike I put Vaeh down in her crib. Nathan decided to take a nap too before he and Haley went out for dinner. So while he and the kids napped, Haley and I had time to catch up a little more. I should have known better than to have let Nathan leave me alone with Haley.

"So what's going on with you, Brooke?" Haley asked as I handed her a glass of Diet Coke.

"What are you talking about?" I returned a smile as I climbed onto a stool next to her at the counted that separated the kitchen from the living room. "I already told you everything going on with me at lunch today."

"No, not everything. You told me about school, work, Nevaeh, and your friends, but you didn't tell me everything."

"Well, what else is there?" I asked innocently, though I was sure I knew exactly what she was trying to get from me.

"Come on, Brooke. You know what I mean. Peyton told me she came to see you. She must have told you that she and Lucas aren't together anymore, that he never stopped loving you."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…she told me."

"So why haven't you called Lucas, Brooke?"

"Because, Haley…if he really wanted me, if he really loved me, he would have made some attempt by now to tell me how he feels. And he hasn't."

""So what? Are you saying you're not in love with him anymore?"

I shook my head. "No. It's still going to take awhile before I can get over the feelings I still have for him, especially since his daughter looks so much like him, but I am trying to move on from him."

"So…what if he were to come back to you, Brooke? What if he does finally find a way to get over his fear and tell you how he feels?"

I shook my head again. "I can't wait for him anymore, Hales/ It hurts too much, and it's not fair. I mean, its freaking Valentine's day, one of the most romantic days of the year and I'm alone. I just…it's time for me to face fact that Lucas and I…we're just not meant to be."

"Brooke," Haley started. "You have a beautiful little girl with him. And you've never stopped loving him, and he's never stopped loving you. Do you honestly believe you two aren't meant to be together?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "If we were, then we'd be together now. He wouldn't have gone to Peyton in the first place. He would have come to me and told me how he feels the moment he realized how he felt. He would have opened his heart to me, Haley. And if we were meant to be, our relationship would have lasted longer and it wouldn't have been the roller coaster that it was."

"Brooke, the greatest couple's in history had their rough spots, even the ones now. Every relationship is a rocky one. Take me and Nathan for perfect example. You remember everything we went through."

"Yeah, but…you and Nathan…your relationship is different."

"How?"

I paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to explain it so Haley could see where I was coming from.

"Lucas and I…our relationship is like a boomerang, at least for me. You know, I threw my heart out to him for him to catch and hold and protect. And not only has he never given me his heart in return, but I always find myself in the same place, trying to mend my broken heart, sent back to me in a million pieces. And it has broken me up and hurt me so much, Haley. And I just can't hurt like that anymore. Do you understand now?"

She had tears in her eyes too as she nodded and hugged me. She promised me then that she'd leave the subject of Lucas alone, and apologized for getting me so worked up. I forgave her and we changed the subject then. After a couple hours, Nathan and the kids woke from their nap. So I entertained the kids while Nathan and Haley got ready for their date. And while they went out for their romantic night alone, I stayed home with Keith and Vaeh.

I was glad to gave the kids keep me company for the night. But after dinner, a bath, and a couple hours of play, both Vaeh and Keith crashed again for the night. And I was left alone on Valentine's Day with nothing to do, and no one to do nothing with. And I could think of nothing to do but what I ahd done the previous year I was alone on the day.

I put Vaeh down in her crib with her blanket, paci, and stuffed bear, then put Keith down in the playpen with the blanket, bottle, and stuffed dinosaur Nathan and Haley had packed for him. Then, after checking that the baby monitor was on, I left the nursery and moved next door to my room. I pulled the box out from the back of my closet and brought it to the living room. I dimmed the lights and lit all the candles in the room before sitting down on the floor with the box.

The CD was the first thing I saw when I removed the lid. I put the CD he'd made for me and titled _Brucas Forever _on our first Valentine's Day together into the stereo underneath the television in the entertainment unit. I played the first track and listened to our song.

_**If there were no words**_

_**No way to speak**_

_**I would still hear you**_

_**If there were no tears**_

_**No way to feel inside**_

_**I'd still feel for you**_

I let the tears fall from my eyes as I rummaged through the box. I'd kept all sorts of things from our relationship to remember him. I'd kept notes, letters (including the letter Peyton had brought me from him), jewelry h'd bought for me, and so much more.

_**And even if the sun refused to shine**_

_**Even if romance ran out of rhyme**_

_**You would still have my heart **_

_**Until the end of time**_

_**You're all I need**_

_**My love, my valentine**_

Everything inside that box brought back another memory of him. But what really brought me to heavy tears was the gray Keith Scott Body shop hoodie folded neatly at the bottom of the box.

_**I have been waiting for **_

_**All you give to me**_

_**You've opened my eyes**_

_**And showed me how to love unselfishly**_

I held the sweatshirt up to my face and hugged it close. I buried my face in it. It still smelled like him, even after the three years since he'd given it to me. As I cried into it silently, I felt like he was with me again, if only in my memory.

_**I've dreamed of this a thousand times before**_

_**And in my dreams I couldn't love you more**_

_**I will give you my heart until the end of time**_

_**You're all I need**_

_**My love, my valentine**_

I kept the sweatshirt in my lap and pulled the pink photo album from the box.

_**La da da**_

_**Da da da da**_

I leaned back against the couch with the sweatshirt, and I began flipping through the album.

_**And even if the sun refused to shine**_

_**Even if romance ran out of rhyme**_

_**You would still have my heart**_

_**Until the end of time**_

_**You're all I need**_

_**My love, my valentine**_

I'd kept every picture of us together in that album. There were pictures from our first date, from basketball games, and times and places outside of school too. My favorites were the photos we took in the photobooth at the mall, and the pictures of us at Naley's vow renewal. We had been so happy.

**_You're all i need_**

_**My love, my valentine**_

I'd needed him so badly back then, and part of me still did. But it was way too late. Not only could I never get him to open his heart to me, but I had pushed him away. I told him to move on, and he obviously did. And while I had tried to move on too, I still, like a boomerang, found myself in the same place every year…hugging his sweatshirt close, missing him and wanting him terribly, and regretting ever letting him go.

My wallowing that night had been interrupted by a knock on the door. I glanced at the door and wondered who it could possibly be. Everyone I knew were out on romantic dates. But I stopped the CD as another one of our songs started, and I stood up from the floor and headed for the door. Before I reached the door though, I turned up the lights, wiped the tears from my face, and checked how that my make up still looked okay in the mirror. It hadn't bee ntoo bad, so I sniffled and moved over to the door.

I grabbed the know without looking to see who was outside first. I figured maybe Chase and Amanda had come back warly and wanted to share their new engagement with me . But it wasn't Chase, nor Amanda on the other side of the door. No…it wasn't them. When I was who it really was, my jaw hit the floor and I was almost speechless. Almost.

I stared at him, right into his deep blue eyes and I stammered out his name.

"L-Lucas…"

* * *

**_Okay…so there it is. Go ahead and review, but I have a few things to add that I forgot. This chapter had a lot of the originial Boomerang oneshot stuff in it, and that's because this story idea did orginiate from that oneshot. Also, if you didn't understand the meaning of the title before, the explanation was also in Brooke's speech, and will be explained again in a Lucas chapter._**

_**And finally, the song used in the chapter is one of my all time favorite songs and artists, **Valentine**, by Martina McBride. And it fit the chapter and setting perfectly, so that's why I picked it instead of a more recent love song. Okay…you can go ahead and review now!**_


	32. Authors Note UD Coming soon!

**_Hey guys! Just wanted to let you all know that I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 3 days time, sooner than I expected, and I am getting back to writing today. And allowing for my work schedule to interfere, I am thinking I will have an update up…maybe in a day or two. Not for sure exactly. I seem to be finishing things sooner than I expect too. LOL. And also, I want you all to know that I am going to focus on finishing this story before continuing with Through Thick & Thin, as I can only seem to focus and get excited on this story right now. My ideas for this keep flowing , while my ideas for Through Thick & Thin have halted again in writers block. So anyway, an update coming very, very soon! Thank you all for your patience_**.

_**--Maureen**_


	33. THIRTY

**_YES! The chapter is ready! I worked so hard on this chapter and I really hope you guys are going to enjoy it. Remember, it is happening before and right up to the moment Lucas showed up at Brooke's door, as you will come to understand (I hope) as you read. Please be sure to review and I will update the next chapter as soon as it is finished._**

* * *

_**THIRTY**_

So another eight months passed by me. For another eight months, I was without Brooke, and without any contact from her. That meant it had been a little over two years since we had last seen or spoken to each other. And it broke my heart to be without her, but I still couldn't bring myself to get back to her as much as I wanted to. No matter what anyone said to me, nothing seemed to convince me that I had a chance, that Brooke would give me another chance. Until, one day, something finally did.

Nathan and Haley (and Keith too) were headed for New York that day, for another visit to Brooke, and for Nathan and Haley, to spend Valentine's Day night together in New York City. And while they were away, I had agreed to house sit for them and take care of the puppy they had gotten Keith for his second Christmas.

And though I had already told both Nathan and Haley that I wasn't going to New York with them, that I still wasn't ready, Haley had taken every opportunity she could before and even on the day they were to leave, to convince me to go with them.

"Why not, Lucas?" Haley asked me with a heavy sigh after I told her firmly again that I was not going. "This could be your chance to finally tell Brooke how you really feel, how you have never stopped feeling. You can tell her everything, Luke…maybe even things you forgot to tell her when you two were together?"

"Haley, just drop it!" I shouted.

I hadn't meant to snap at her like I did. I sighed and spoke more calmly as she stared at me, "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to yell at you like that, Hales, but I've already told you , and Nathan, time after time that I cannot go to New York."

Slowly, Haley nodded, not in agreement, but in complete and utter disappointment. I saw that when she had looked back at me with tears after she'd looked away briefly.

"Who are you?" She asked me quietly.

"What?"

I stared at her, confused. _Who was I?_

"I don't know you anymore, Lucas," Haley continued, still quietly. "I feel now like I never knew you at all, you've changed so much. And yet, I don't even know what it is that's changed in you. What happened to Lucas Scott?"

"I'm still…"

"No," Haley interrupted, speaking louder this time. "You're not. Lucas Scott was never this afraid before. Lucas Scott was never this selfish and cowardly before. And I don't get it, Lucas. I thought you missed, Brooke. I thought you loved her. And I thought you said you at least wanted to be her friend again."

"I did." I finally got a word in. "I do, but…"

"But what?"

I shook my head. I didn't even really know the rest of my answer myself anymore. The only thing I did know was that I was still way too afraid and confused to confront Brooke about my feelings. As Haley had put it for me, I was selfish and cowardly.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I really don't know anymore, Haley. I just…I feel so lost right now. I don't know what to do about Brooke, about my feelings, or about anything, really."

Though my answer had been honestly honest and from my heart, Haley still hadn't stopped pushing me.

"Well, maybe what you need to figure everything out is to talk to Brooke. At least then you could sort out your feelings."

I sighed again and this time, I was the one glaring.

"Look." Haley pulled me down on her couch next to her. "You've felt this way before, Luke. Granted, you never had it this bad before, never so much that you try drinking all the loneliness and pain away because of it, or so much that skip classes, call of sick at work, and pretty much isolate yourself from your friends and family.

"But you have felt lost, lonely and confused before, Lucas. And I remember it was because you and Brooke weren't together anymore. And you had felt gulty for screwing things up so badly with her. I think that's how you are feeling now."

I nodded slowly. I agreed with Haley on that point because I did remember the last time I'd felt that way. But I still didn't know what to do about it. And, of course, Haley offered more advice.

"So maybe Brooke is what you need. No…scratch that. Brooke _is _what you need. She made you so, so happy before, Luke. And I know that she could again if you would just let her in."

_Let her in…_those words, strangely, erupted a sort of ringing in my head. They were so familiar. And then, suddenly, it hit me, and I remembered why those words were so familiar, where I'd heard them before…

"_Why won't you ever just let me all the way in?"_

They were Brooke's words, words she had said, or rather, sobbed to me shortly before she had ended our relationship. And I remembered…I remembered why she had said those words to me…

We had been dancing at Nathan and Haley's reception, following their vow renewal wedding. While we were dancing, I accidentally revealed to Brooke that Peyton and I had kissed in the library during the lockdown after she had been shot. And after I had let that slip, Brooke ran out ion me, to the back of the hall where I had followed her.

"_Look, Brooke," I said as she moved away from me back there, searching through purses for something. "I need you to listen to me. Okay, I understand that you didn't know about the kiss, and I'm sorry for springing it on you, but I meant what I said. It didn't mean anything."_

_She looked at me shocked and hurt._

"_A kiss always means something," she said._

"_Okay, well maybe—maybe you're right, but it wasn't a romantic moment. And you would know that if…"_

"_If what, I was there?" She slammed a purse down on the table. "As you so sweetly pointed out at the party, the party that I threw for you, I wasn't there, was I?"_

_I sighed and looked down at the table, in shame of myself. I handed her another purse. She snatched it from me, still so hurt and angry. Yet, I still wasn't fully aware of how hurt I had really made her…yet._

"_Is it impossible for you to forgive me?" I asked her. "I forgave you."_

"_For what?"_

_I stood up straight again. And I said something, what I immediately realized afterward, contributed even more to her pain._

"_For sleeping with Chris Keller."_

_The words stung her. I could tell they had by the way she looked at me then, and what she said to me._

"_And you know what, Lucas? I loved you for that. You had such grace in that moment, that I fell in love with you all over again. I can't believe that you would use it now as a bargaining chip!"_

"_No, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. I just… I need you to trust me, and believe me when I tell you that my heart is with you. But a part of me feels like ever since we got back together, you've just been waiting, waiting to push me away."_

"_Oh, great. You kiss Peyton again, and I'm pushing you away!"_

_She moved over wuickly to another table as she continued to sob. And I moved slowly over next to her._

"_I love you, Brooke," I said softly. "I don't know how else to say it."_

_Brooke was still crying. And she offered a suggestion under her cries. "How about how you show it? I am not pushing you away, Lucas. I am holding on for dear life, but I need you to need me back. Okay, why wouldn't you tell me about the kiss? And why didn't you call me while you were away? And why won't you ever just let me all the way in?"_

_She pushed her hands against my chest, over my heart as she said those last words. Over my heart…_

Brooke had wanted me to let her inside my heart. She wanted me to give my whole heart to her, and tell her what I was feeling whenever I was feeling it, just like she had always done for me. She had given me her whole heart and she had wanted me to return the favor. That had been the one and only thing Brooke had ever wanted from me…to love her enough to trust her with my heart, all of my heart and to just let her in. But I never gave her that, not whole heartedly anyway. And I could believe it had taken me so long to realize what Brooke had wanted most from me.

"It's too late," I said softly to Haley, after and as I thought back on my biggest mistake with Brooke. "It's been too long now, Hales."

"Yeah, and who's fault is that?" She snapped.

I looked at Haley. She shook her head again. And then she stood up from the couch. "You know I still don't understand it, Luke. I still don't understand why you think you have to punish yourself. Why can't you just forgive yourself already?"

_Because…_I thought. _I need Brooke's forgiveness first._

"You ready, Hales?" Nathan had stepped back inside the house with seventeen month old Keith in his arms. "Our flight leaves in an hour."

"Yeah…I'll be right out."

Nathan walked back out after a quick nod. Haley took her purse and Keith's blue and white diaper bag from the coffee table. She turned back to me before she left, though, with one final thought.

"I don't know why you insist on hurting yourself so much, Lucas. You made a mistake. Okay. We all make mistakes, but we find ways to overcome our mistakes and learn from them. Like I said, I don't know why you can't do that, but I do know that you need Brooke in your life. You need her more than anyone. And I know you refuse to believe this because of how she left you, but…Brooke needs you in her life just as much as you need her in yours. Think about that."

And I did think about it…for hours after she and Nathan left. I thought not only about everything Haley had said to me before she left, but also, perhaps even more so, that flashback of my last argument with Brooke.

"_Why won't you ever just let all the way in?"_

I heard her words in my head again, and wheel spun faster in my head. My failure to let Brooke in, to give her my whole heart, had lead to the end of our relationship a second time, which had caused a major rift to form between Brooke and I. But I began to wonder then…could that rift still be repaired. Was there a chance that a relationship with Brooke could be saved and mended if I gave my heart to her now, if I told her everything I still and always felt for her? If I went to New York and surprised her and told her exactly how much I loved her, would that be showing her how I loved her like she had asked of me two years before? Or, and what scared me most, was it really too late?

I decided finally that I would never know the answer to my question unless I actually did something. And so, when I made that connection, I left the house as quickly as I could after locking the puppy and the house up, and I rushed home to pack as quickly as I could. And from there, I headed off to the airport and bought a ticket to the next plane leaving for New York, which was set to take off a few hours after Nathan and Haley's did. But I waited for that flight and convinced myself that I was finally doing something right.

I was so nervous waiting for that flight, and even during the plane ride. But nothing compared to the nervous and fear I was feeling as I found Brooke's apartment building (thanks to the address Brooke on Haley's desk, sincei had somehow misplaced the letter I'd written for Brooke). And the fear and nervous only increased as I made my way up the elevator and down the hall to 6B. And my heart was beating faster than I had ever known it to before as I reached up and put my hand on the knocker. And the racing of my heart only intensified as I knocked, and then as the door swung open and I saw her.

I felt like my heart had fallen out of my chest when I saw her…my Brooke standing right there before my very eyes, more beautiful than I had remembered. I couldn't breathe, but I managed to find words anyway as she stared back at me in complete shock.

"Hey, Brooke," I choked out. I even managed a smile as I finished. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

* * *

**_Okay, there it is….sorry it's another cliff hanger, but now you see Lucas's side of his coming to New York…how he felt and everything while Brooke had been sitting there crying over him. Anyway, you will finally get to see Brooke and Lucas talk about everything in Brooke's chapter….and yes, the moment you've all been waiting for, Lucas will meet his daughter for the very first time. But what will happen? You will just have to wait, read and see! LOL now please review! You know I love reading what u all think!_**


	34. THIRTY ONE

**_Another chapter finished! Are you excited? I hope you are cuz you are going to loooooove this! (I hope). Don't forget to ud, and the next chapter should follow very soon, maybe tonight, if not, definitely this weekend. The sooner you review, the faster I can update!_**

_**THIRTY ONE**_

"L-Lucas…" I stuttered when I saw him standing on the other side of my door.

I couldn't believe it was really him. Was I dreaming? And if I wasn't, then why was he here? What did he want? And how long had it been exactly since we'd last spoken? Two years? Yes…it had been two long years since I'd heard his voice, and now I was finally face to face with him and hearing it again.

"Hey, Brooke," he'd said when I'd opened the door. "Happy Valentine's Day."

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I couldn't think of any. After all, what are the right words to say to someone whom you've made absolutely no contact with in two years because you were afraid to tell him you were pregnant with his baby. _Oh, baby…_I remembered. Lucas' baby was asleep in her room just down the hall. And he…he was standing right there outside my apartment. What was I going to do, I wondered.

"What, um…what are you doing here?" I finally asked him after quickly glancing behind me down the hall.

He flashed me that amazing smile then, the smile that had always made him irresistible to me, and also the same smile Nevaeh shared with him.

"I…wanted to see you," was his reply.

He had been smiling as he'd said it, but I could tell he was nervous, unsure of what he wanted to say, what would be the best thing to say.

"Why?" I asked, just as nervous. I was nervous as to what had brought him into my life again, and even nervous about how and if I was going to explain. And also…seeing him there before me had started playing with my heart again. When I'd seen him there, all I wanted was to hug him…so tight, and to kiss those beautiful, amazing lips of his. But I didn't. I couldn't. I had to find out why he was there.

"Because…" he said slowly in response to my question. "I missed you."

My heart had skipped a beat at those words. _He missed me? _But, as much as I'd loved hearing him admit that to me, I was confused as hell too. _He missed me? Since when? For how long? And why had he waited so long to tell me?_

"Why?" I asked him again, desperate for the answer to the question that had been plaguing my mind for months.

He looked down momentarily as he spoke. "I, um…I figured this wouldn't be easy, but um…I need to tell you anyway before I chicken out again."

"Tell me what?" Again, I was so, so anxious to hear his answer, but at the same time, I was so afraid to know. I was afraid he would make another one of his famous embarrassing speeches as he had done in the past, and I did not want to fall into his trap again. I couldn't fall into that trap again. My heart was still mending from the last time.

"Can I come in?"

I glanced around me. I saw my box of his things on the floor of the living room. I couldn't let him see that. He'd know I'd been crying over him, missing him so much. But, then again, I could just keep him over in the kitchen area with his back turned toward that spot. I looked at the kitchen and realized that if I did that, he would see the high chair in the corner. And how would I explain that to him if he asked.

I decided, though, that I would cross that bridge when and if I came to it. Maybe he wouldn't notice if I just kept him talking. But I knew then, that I needed to hear what he had to tell me. Or, at least, my heart needed to hear it. So I let him inside and made sure he took a seat on a stool at the counter right away before he could see that box and figure it out. I closed the door and sat down across from him.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked again. "What do you want to tell me?"

"I, um…I have so much to say to you, Brooke, so much I want to explain, but I have now idea where to begin."

He paused and I wondered what was coming next.

"I love you, Brooke," he blurted out. "I've always loved you, and I never stopped loving you."

I was shocked by this revelation, but I didn't respond to it. Instead, I let him go on so I could hear the rest of what he had to say before he, as he had said he might, chickened out again.

"I don't know what happened with us, Brooke, or rather, what happened to me to have forgotten how to show you how much I love you. I regret everyday how withdraw I made myself from you. You asked me for my heart, Brooke. You asked me to open up to you and tell you how I felt. But I didn't. I never gave to you all that you gave to me, and I am so sorry for that every single day, every minute and every second I am without you, Brooke. Because I truly am in love with you, Brooke Davis."

I had tears in my eyes already as I watched him move a hand toward my face. I closed my eyes as tears slipped out and Lucas' hand brushed my cheek. But then I remembered why we weren't like that anymore, why we couldn't have moments like that, and I pushed his hand away and opened my eyes.

"Lucas…" I said softly, as more of a whisper. "What about Peyton?"

He looked down for a moment again as he said, "We're not together anymore. We haven't been for awhile. We ended things a little over a year ago."

I was aware of that, in part. Peyton and Haley had both told me that Lucas and Peyton had ended their relationship. Peyton had said they had both realized their hearts were in different places, hers with Jake and his with…me. But how could I be sure that had been the true reason? I had to hear it from him. I had to know Lucas' reason from Lucas.

"You ended things?" I asked, fidgeting on my stool. "Or Peyton ended things?"

That was the million dollar question, the question that was the most important, as well as the one I was most afraid of the answer.

"It was a mutual decision."

_Well…_I thought. _At least he answered honestly. _

"But I had realized the relationship was over weeks before it finally ended, when I'd come to realize that I didn't love Peyton. I couldn't love her when I was still so in love with you, and I can never stop loving you and I never will."

_Okay…so he answered the question right. _But I still wasn't ready to let him back in that easily. There was still something I'd needed answered.

"So…where have you been?" I asked slowly.

He looked at me, confused.

"You said you realized you still loved me weeks before your relationship with Peyton ended. So if that's the case, then where have you been, Lucas? Why didn't you tell me this before? Why haven't you come forward with this before now?"

"I—"

He'd started to speak, but a cry on the baby monitor interrupted him. We both looked down at the monitor, him confused and curious and me, nervous, afraid and panicked. That was Vaeh's cry I'd heard, not Keith's. And I knew that cry. That cry meant she would not stop or go back to sleep again until I came in and held her, and assured her she was safe and I was still there. She had always been that way, since the day she was born. I guess she inherited my insecurities.

"You,um…you get stuck watching Keith for Nathan and Haley?" Lucas asked when he looked back up from the monitor.

I nodded slowly as I looked back up again.

"Yeah…" I said. I answered truthfully, but I knew I wasn't telling the whole truth. I was still omitting the fact that I had another baby in there too…his baby, and that it was her cry he was hearing on the monitor.

And it was time, I realized, for the whole truth to come out. I couldn't hide it, I couldn't hide her from Lucas anymore. And besides…he had been honest with me in all my questions to that point. I realized that in return, it was only fair that I be honest and come clean with him.

"I'll, um…" I said as I slipped off the stool slowly." I'll be right back."

And, my heart pounding more than it had when I'd seen Lucas on the other side of my door, I made my way down to Nevaeh's nursery. She was standing up in her crib when I entered. She looked at me, and I saw her tear streaked face. She looked so scared and was still crying as I moved over to her.

"Shh…" I soothed as I lifted her out and into my arms. "It's okay…Momma's here…you're okay."

Her crying subsided as she held on close to me and buried her face in my shoulder.

I ran my hand along the back of her soft, dark head as I rocked and bounced her. Finally, she began to calm. But I knew that it would be another couple of hours before she would go back to sleep.

"It's okay, baby." I moved my head so I could see her face. Her eyes were still sad, but I knew that now that she knew I was there, she would be okay.

And as she had calmed down, I calmed down too. I was finally calm enough, less afraid and ready to go back out and introduce Lucas to his…_our _daughter. So, after I peered down into the play pen to see that Keith was okay (he was), I left the room again.

I saw Lucas had stood up from the stool and was standing near the door as I returned. He looked away from where he'd been staring (the living room undoubtedly, and at the box most likely) and he watched as I carried Vaeh into the room.

He looked very confused when I stopped in front of him.

"That's…not Keith," he said.

I shook my head. "No…she's not Keith. Keith is still asleep in the playpen."

He smiled then. "What you do…take up babysitting?"

I smiled a little in return. Telling him was just as hard as I'd expected it to be. And his sense of humor and amazing smile wasn't helping the matter much.

"Luke, does she look familiar to you at all?"

He stared at her for a minute, crossed his brows and answered, "Yeah, actually…she does. Who is she?"

I took in a huge breath and let it out slowly.

"This, Lucas…is Nevaeh. Nevaeh Faith Davis, a beautiful little angel born January first, 2008 at 12:03 a.m. at six pounds, seven ounces, 21 inches long. And she is the greatest joy in my life."

I kissed her head as Lucas still stared.

"You, um…you have a daughter?" He asked, looking quite disappointed.

I swallowed. _Here it is, _I thought. _The moment of truth._

"We Lucas…" I said slowly, or began to anyway. "We have a daughter."

His expression turned to shock then.

"What?"

"Vaeh's not just mine, Lucas." I shifted our baby daughter higher on my hip, her feet dangling at my side in her pink ruffled, footed pajamas. "She's yours too."

He seemed to choke then, as he backed away a little and tried to think of something to say.

"I, um…I didn't…how could she be…why didn't you…"

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I just…I couldn't."

"Couldn't?" His tone had grown louder in his state of shock. "You mean wouldn't? How could you not tell me, Brooke?!"

The tears had come to me again and I tried to explain, calmly so Vaeh would not get upset again.

"I was scared, Lucas. You have to understand. I was so, so scared."

"but how could you not tell me, not even mention it to me in a letter or something?" He seemed to be ignoring all of answers, all of my attempted explanations. "Wait a second…is she why you came to New York? Is she why you never came home, or why you never called?"

My delayed response answered his question. I didn't even have a chance to answer, really.

"Brooke," he said again. "How could you have kept me from her…for all this time?"

"I was scared, Luke! And you were with Peyton. You were making a life with her, and I pushed you away, I told you to go to here and be with her. And I did not want to disrupt your life."

"Disrupt my life?" His voice was so angry, yet so hurt and that was hurting me. I felt so guilty, even more as he went on. "Brooke, she is my life! She's a part of me, half mine. I am her father! You didn't think it important to mention to me in some way that I have a child?"

"It's not that, Lucas." I was trying so desperately by that point to get him to understand and forgive me. "I was so scared, Luke…terrified. Not only of being a mother, but of you and what you would do if I told you. I mean I knew that you would come back, but she would be the reason, the only reason. And I didn't want a baby to be your only reason for coming back into my life. I couldn't take her being the only reason you came back to me, and she would've been your reason."

Finally, Lucas had grown quiet. But he was still hurt. I could tell that as he shook his head and said, "No…no…see, the baby would not have been my only reason for coming back. I mean, I'm here now. I loved you, Brooke. I've always loved you, even when you left. The only thing that has kept me from telling you is that letter…you know, the letter in which you told me to forget about our entire relationship, to forget that we ever were.

"I have wanted to tell you for so long how I feel, Brooke. But I have been too afraid because I didn't think you would take me back. I was too afraid to ask you for another chance after I had hurt you so much. And now…with this…keeping this from me…that has hurt me so much, Brooke. It has hurt me way more than I ever thought you could, or would ever hurt me."

My eyes and cheeks were drenched in tears as I watched Lucas turn and storm out of my apartment. And I was certain, after that, after those words, that he would never come back again. I had blown it (again), and Lucas was gone from my life (again)…forever.

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_**Okay, you know what to do. Please review!**_


	35. THIRTY TWO

**_Thanks for all the reviews guys. Loved all of your reactions. And I hope that you all love Lucas's POV on what happened as much as you loved Brooke's POV. Be sure to review and let me know._**

**_THIRTY TWO_**

"Where've you been?" Brooke asked me after I'd finally told her I still loved her. "Why haven't you come forward before now?"

I'd expected the question. And I didn't expect she would just instantly jump back into my arms once I told her, but I had still hoped she might, even though I still didn't know if she still loved me or not. But I knew I had to answer any and all of her questions before she would answer mine.

But when I started to speak, I was interrupted by the sound of a crying baby. I looked down to the spot where I'd heard it. There'd been a baby monitor sitting there on the counter. Had Nathan and Haley brought that too? For Keith? They must have, I thought.

I looked back up at Brooke. "Did you get stuck watching Keith for Nate and Haley?"

I flashed her a smile. She nodded slowly, but she had an odd expression on her face. She looked nervous about something.

"Yeah…" she said. "I'll be right back."

She climbed off her stool and I watched as she walked down the hall. While she was gone, my eyes wandered around the rest of the room, into the kitchen and then to the living room, where I'd seen something that had sparked my curiosity.

I stood up to get a closer look. There was a box sitting on the floor in front of the couch. I couldn't quite see what it contained, as it contained so much, but next to it lay a gray hooded sweatshirt. It looked an awful lot like the one I had given to Brooke when we'd been together. Could it be the same one? I didn't have the chance to find out, as I heard a door close down the hall.

I looked and saw Brooke making her way back down the hall. And she was carrying with her a baby who, at first, I'd assumed was Keith. But it wasn't.

"That's not Keith," I'd said to Brooke when I realized the baby in the pink pajamas (the pajamas that had tipped me off that she was not Keith) Brooke was holding was actually a little girl. And…a familiar looking girl too.

"No…she's not," Brooke returned.

I smiled again. "What'd you do? Take up babysitting?"

She smiled, which had forced a smile from me. But her smile seemed to fade a little as she spoke again.

"Lucas…does she look familiar to you at all?"

I nodded my head as I stared at the little girl again, particularly into her eyes and the shape of her face.

"Yeah…" I said. "She does. Who is she?"

Brooke seemed to hesitate again, and looked over at the baby before she answered. "This…is Nevaeh, Lucas. Nevaeh Faith Davis."

_Whoa…_I thought. _Davis?_

"She was born January 1st, 2008 at 12:03 a.m., at six pounds, seven ounces, 21 inches long. And she is the greatest joy in my life."

I'd watched Brooke kiss the head of, apparently, her daughter. I was shocked by that revelation/ Brooke…_my _Brooke, had had a baby. A million questions and responses ran through my head (like _who's the father_, and _where's her father?_) But I asked instead, what had already been made perfectly clear.

"You have a daughter?"

Brooke looked so nervous and afraid again as she said, "We, Lucas…we have a daughter."

_WHAT? Did she just say 'we'…'we have a daughter'?_

"Vaeh's not just mine, Lucas. She's yours too."

And I panicked. I had a daughter. How could I have a daughter? How could I not know I have a daughter? How could she, Brooke. Not informed me somehow that I had fathered a child, her child? These were all questions I asked, or rather screamed at Brooke in my panic.

I didn't know what else to do but yell because I was hurt, so hurt and so angry. I wasn't just angry at Brooke for not telling me, but also at myself for not learning sooner, for not being there. And all my anger, all my pain I took out on Brooke in that moment. Until, that is, I couldn't take it anymore and I ran out…without thinking about anything but what I was feeling then, and especially not realizing I was acting just as Dan had with my mom, something I would regret when I finally did realize it.

* * *

The news that I had a daughter had produced a panic in me bigger than I had ever felt before. And the panic had grown even more as I'd realized Brooke had kept the news, kept my daughter from me the entire time she'd been pregnant, and then for almost fourteen months after.

All my anger and hurt had come out at Brooke. And then I'd decided I couldn't look at Brooke anymore, that I needed to be alone to sort out my thoughts and figure everything out.

I pushed hard against the solid door of the apartment building, slamming the door open as I left. And I finally started to breathe again when I felt the cold winter air against my face. I sunk down onto the ground against the building and looked out to Central Park just across the street. And as I looked out, I could see people walking out there, hand in hand, heads on shoulders, so happy. I even saw a family of three out there. A young woman was smiling as she watched her husband toss their little girl into the air and catch her again before kissing her little cheek, all bundled up in her winter coat. I felt the tears slide down my cheeks and I buried my face in my arms and leaned against my knees, pulled up close to me.

Brooke had had a baby, _my baby_…over a year ago, and she never told me. I finally understood why she'd left so suddenly, why she hadn't kept in touch with me. She's been hiding my daughter from me, my beautiful little daughter. How could Brooke have kept her from me? Why hadn't she told me? Why not ever?

"Wait, honey, wait a second…" I heard footsteps and a voice coming closer to me. "Lucas?"

I looked up and I saw Nathan and Haley standing a few feet from me, Haley's jaw on the ground, but in a smile.

"Oh my god," she said. "You came. I can't believe you actually, _finally _came!"

I stared up at her, piecing the questions I had together and realizing that this was not Haley's, nor Nathan's, first visit to New York. They'd both come to see Brooke before…a year ago New Year's Eve, in fact. And though I had realized then that Nathan and Haley had both helped keep this huge secret from me too, I'd felt more betrayed by Haley, as she had had the most contact with Brooke and had talked to me about Brooke several times and never, not once, mentioned the fact that I had daughter.

I nodded slowly in response to Haley's reaction to seeing me there and I said, "Yeah, Haley…I came."

She and Nathan both watched as I stood up, and their smiles faded as they saw the expression on my face more clearly in the light from the street lamp. I was sure they were wondering why I was so upset, at least Nathan was. Haley, I could tell from the new expression on her face, had probably figured it out. Well, either way, I was about to let both of them in on exactly why I was so upset.

"After you left," I began. "I started thinking about Brooke and my feelings for her again. And I finally realized the mistake I'd made with her last time, and I decided I didn't want to lose her forever because of that mistake. So I got the first flight out to New York I could get so I could come and see her. Because that's what I wanted more than anything, to just see her and talk to her."

"I wanted to come out here not only to tell Brooke I love her and miss her, but to find out why she hasn't contacted me in two years. And do you want to know what I found out? Ask me, Haley. Ask me what I found out."

"Lucas…"

I was so angry with her I didn't even let her finish, didn't even let her try to explain then.

"I found out I have a daughter, Haley. I found out I've had a daughter for thirteen and a half months, but you already know that, don't you?"

She looked up at me and sighed, "Lucas, I—"

"How could you have not told me about her, Haley? Or you, Nathan? You're my brother. You were both here last year when she was born. And I'm guessing you, Haley, knew Brooke was pregnant the whole time too. And after all the times we talked about her, you never mentioned it…not once. How…could you do that to me, Haley?"

"I'm sorry, Lucas," she said, stepping closer to me. I am so, so sorry, but I couldn't tell you."

"You know I keep hearing that, and from the two people I thought would never, ever hurt me like this. Why not, Haley? Why couldn't you tell me? I'm your best friend and had plenty of opportunities."

"I know, but it wasn't my place to tell, Luke. I wanted to tell you, really I did. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I couldn't. I made Brooke a promise."

"So I guess that means your friendship with Brooke means more to you than your friendship with me?"

"No, it doesn't! I love you both so much. You're my best friend and my brother-in-law, and Brooke is like my sister. And she needed me, okay? She didn't have anyone else, and she was afraid to tell you, even though I tried time and time again to convince her. And I was sure she would tell you before the baby was born, even soon after. But then she told me she wouldn't, but I couldn't go back on my promise to her, Lucas. You know me, I never break my promises. And she didn't have anyone else to count on like she could me.

"I did try to help you both, though, Luke. I promised Brooke I wouldn't tell you about the baby because it wasn't my place, and I didn't tell you. But I did try to get you to find out on your own. I told you to call her, write her or visit her, but you refused every time I suggested it."

"Well, if I'd know I had a daughter, I would have listened and came a lot sooner. But…thank to you, I've missed out on a year of her life, not to mention her birth."

"Okay, stop." Nathan stepped in between us. "Stop right there, Luke. Don't you dare put this all on Haley. It is not entirely her fault and you know it. You're right…she didn't tell you about your daughter. But it was Brooke who asked her not to. It was Brooke who chose to keep her from you. She could've called you and told you about her, or asked Haley to tell you about her, but she didn't."

I realized then that Nathan had a point. But I had already taken that out with Brooke. And now that I had gotten my anger out, I felt the pain overwhelm me again and my tears returned.

"I'm sorry," I said to Haley weakly. "I'm just…I'm angry/ I'm so angry at myself for not being there, for not finding out. Because I would have been there, Haley…I would have been there for her, for both of them. I wouldn't have been like Dan. I would've been there."

"I know, Luke." Haley threw her arms around me and pulled me closer. "I know you would have been there…because you are definitely not Dan. And I'm sorry for making you feel like you are now."

She pulled away then and finished. "You're not Dan, Lucas. And you never will be, not if you are there for Brooke and Nevaeh now. I know you've missed out on the first year, but you can still have the rest of your daughter's years with her. Is that what you want, Luke? Do you want to be with Brooke and your daughter?"

I nodded slowly. Haley smiled. "Good. I knew you would. I knew you still loved Brooke."

"I do, Hales…I love her so much."

"So what are you still doing down here talking to us?" Nathan asked me. "Get your ass back up there, Luke!"

And I turned and ran back inside and upstairs and as fast as I could, hoping with all hope that it was not too late.

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**_Okay, there is Lucas's POV. Tell me what you think please, and I will update as soon as the next chapter is complete. Thanks guys._**


	36. THIRTY THREE

_**First of all, I just want to apologize to you all for being absent so long with an update. My internet, cable, and phone have been down for awhile and I have been without any access to the internet! Gah! Can you imagine how bored out of my freaking mind I've been?!! LOL Anyway, you'll be happy to know that during the time I was without entertainment, I had plenty of time to finish the story. That's right…I have actually FINISHED writing this story! But you've all got about three chapters left to read before you will be finished with the story. So here they come, starting with chapter thirty three. Be sure to review and tell me what you think.**_

* * *

_**THIRTY THREE**_

Deep down, when I first made the decision, I knew I would regret not telling Lucas about Nevaeh. And that day, that moment had come. I knew also that Lucas would be angry with me when he found out I'd kept his daughter from him. And I'd expected him to shout at me like he did. But I never expected him he would leave. The whole reason I never told him was because I knew that he would stay, that he would be there. I never, not once, thought he would ever walk away from his daughter. Yet…he did.

After he'd stormed out, I'd stared at the door in devestation for a few minutes. I couldn't believe he'd left, that he had really walked (or rather, ran) out. My heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest and stomped on all over again. And all I could do to get through was cry.

I held Nevaeh close to me on the couch as the tears fell from my eyes again. I felt so hurt and so disappointed, more in myself than in Lucas. He'd had every right and justice in saying everything that he'd said. I had basically betrayed him. And in doing so, I had broken his heart. But, as much as he had broken my heart in the past, hurting him had never been my intention.

All I'd been trying to do was protect my heart and my daughter's. I didn't want to tell Lucas about Vaeh because I didn't want to let him in again and risk another heartbreak. But, as I sat there crying with our daughter falling asleep in my arms, all I wanted, more than anything else in the world, was to have him back so I could tell him again how sorry I was, and that I too…had never stopped loving him.

And then it was like my prayer had been processed and answered in a matter of a few seconds. I turned my head swiftly at the door when I heard the knock. Nevaeh had jerked awake again when I jumped because the knock had startled me too. She started to fuss a little, but I slipped her pacifier back in her mouth and she was calm and quiet again. I stood up, then, as another knock sounded.

_That can't be him…_I thought as I walked slowly toward the door again. _He was way too angry at me to come back, especially this soon. _

But when I opened the door again, with Vaeh on my hip and her head on my shoulder, I saw that it was him on the other side of the door…again.

We didn't say anything to each other, not right away anyway. All we did was stare…right into each other's eyes. And then, finally, he spoke.

"Hey…"

I never thought I'd ever be so excited to hear that word, but I was…because he'd said it, and because he was there. He came back.

"Hey," I returned softly. "You came back."

He nodded. "I, um…I shouldn't have left. I just…panicked."

I nodded, understanding. Then, I invited him back again, each of us thinking of what to say. At that moment, I didn't want either of us to say anything. I was simply enjoying his coming back. But I did still want him to understand, so I tried to explain.

"Lucas, I—"

"No, Brooke," he interrupted, and I was afraid of what his next words might be. "You don't have to explain. I understand."

"You do?"

He nodded and glanced down, then back at me. "I mean it still hurts me, finding out that I've missed out on a year of my daughter's life, watching her grow and learn, and not being able to be with her and with you, but…I do understand now why you felt like you couldn't tell me. I'm sorry you felt you couldn't trust in me again. And also, I um…I forgive you."

I smiled and I sighed relief. _He forgives me. _That was music to my ears. I glanced at Vaeh as I felt her arm move across my back. I looked back up at Lucas. He was looking at Vaeh now.

"Do you…want to hold her?" I asked him.

He seemed then to get very nervous and back away a little, afraid.

"It's okay," I told him, stepping closer to him. And I pulled Vaeh away from me and passed her to Lucas, who pulled her closer to him. I heard him let out a deep breath as he took her and stared directly at her, into her face. I watched as she stared back at him too, suddenly wide awake and very curious.

"Hi…Nevaeh." Lucas spoke slowly and softly to her. "I'm Lu—well, I guess I'm your dad. I know you probably don't understand a word I'm saying, or that you don't really know me, but…I promise you're going to because I'm here now."

I smiled more and folded my arms across my chest as I watched him bond with her. I could tell he was already the great father I had always known he would be. I watched as Nevaeh lifted her little hand to his faces and touched his nose. He smiled back at her.

And then, with that pink and white pacifier in her mouth, she muttered something quite clear to the two of us.

She said, "Dada?"

Lucas' smiled left his face then in shock. He looked at me again.

"She…she knows who I am?"

Still with a smile, I said, "You heard her. What do you think?"

"Well…I don't know what to think, really. I mean…how does she…how can she know?"

I stepped even closer to him after his question. Our eyes were still locked on one another and we were connected again, but neither of us made that move that I was certain we both wanted to make in that moment. I looked down ,though, took his hand in mine and said, "Come with me."

I took him to the nursery. Keith was still fast asleep when we entered. And after a quick glance at him, I led Lucas over to Nevaeh's crib. I looked at him as he noticed and stared at what I had brought him in there to see…the light wooden frames on the wall…with pictures of him.

He looked completely shocked and bewildered to see those there. And I finally explained their presence to him.

"The day I brought her home from the hospital I put these up," I said and he looked to me as Vaeh reached for me. I took her from him and continued. "I couldn't find the strength or the courage to tell you about her because I was afraid and selfish, to be completely honest. But I did want her to know who you were, Lucas. I wanted her to know every single day who her father was. So I put these pictures up, and every night before I put her down, I would point at the pictures and tell her, 'that's your daddy, Nevaeh. That's your daddy.' I sometimes wondered afterward if she would remember, but…I guess she did."

He smiled again, as did I.

"Brooke," he started after a minute. I could tell he was gearing to change the subject. "There is still so much that I want to say to you, more that I didn't get to say earlier. I know I yelled at you and then ran out, but if you could find it in you to forgive me for that, I would really like the chance to finish."

I nodded slowly. And I put Vaeh back down in her crib. Lucas and I both kissher her head before returning to the living room. I stopped and turned to face him when we reached the spot between the living room and the kitchen again.

"I want you to know," he started. "That I meant what I said before…I have never stopped loving you, not even when I was with Peyton. And the breakup between her and I was not just her idea. And when ended our relationship, everything I ever felt for her that was more than friendship ended too. We ended us for the last time. While we did promise that we will always be friends, the connection she and I had…it's gone. And I know it is gone forever because it couldn't kick the connection I feel, and will always feel, with you."

I watched as he stepped a little closer to me.

"I know that I hurt you two too many times for you to forgive me, or to give me another chance, but I never stopped loving you, even though it seemed I had. I made so many mistakes, Brooke, so many mistakes that I regret and wish I could take back, but I can't. All I can do is tell you how much I love you and promise that I will never ever hurt you like that again. And I know I've broken that same promise before, but I'm hoping you might forgive me anyway, even thought I definitely don't deserve it.

I looked down then as he took my hand in his. I could tell how sincere his words and his anxiety really were by the unsteady shake in his hands.

"You are the one I belong with, Brooke. It took me awhile to remember that, but I have remembered, and I can't forget ever again. I can't forget you or us, or now…that fact that I have a daughter, that _we _have a child together. I can't ever forget how much I love you because I'm never going to stop loving you. No matter who I was with, my heart was still,always with you. And it always will be…until the end of time."

I will give you my heart until the end of time 

Our song played in my mind again as I fell even more in love with him in his confession.

I've dreamed of this a thousand times before 

_**And in my dreams I couldn't love you more**_

"You're the one I see in my future, Brooke, you and our daughter. I want to be with you and be a father to Nevaeh. I want to be married to you someday, pretty girl. You are the one I want to share my life with, Brooke, the only one…from now until forever. I want you to be the one I spend every Valentine's with like this. You are the one I want to wake up to every morning, and the one I raise a family with. I want to make us a family, Brooke…you, me and Nevaeh. And I want to make more children with you, Brooke. I want to love you and live my life with you. I want to spend forever with you."

Slowly, then, he leaned in and kissed me. He brought his hands to my face again as I gave in to the kiss just as much as he put in. It, the kiss, he…all of it was exactly what I wanted and everything I'd needed.

_**You're all I need**_

_**My love, my valentine**_

When we pulled away, I leaned my head against his, feeling tears of complete joy and happiness fill my eyes.

"I guess this means you still feel the same way about me?" Lucas asked with a smile.

I nodded and whispered softly. "Always. I never stopped loving you either. And I hoped for months, Lucas…I hoped for months that you would remember you loved me too. I dreamt about it."

His grin spread even further across his face as I'd said that. Then, he pushed some of my dark hair back and asked, "Does this mean, then…that you forgive me?"

My arms were wrapped around his waist as I answered, "I already forgave you, Lucas. I forgave you a long time ago. I've just been waiting for you to forgive me."

"Forgive you? For what?"

I stared into those deep blue, beautiful eyes of his. "For letting you go. And now, for keeping Vaeh from you."

He kissed me again. And after, he said, "I told you already, Brooke. I forgive you."

"But how can you?" I wondered. "I mean I pushed you away, Lucas. I kept your daughter from you. How can you forgive me for that?"

"Because you're letting me in now. And because we've both made mistakes. But mostly…because I am completely, truly in love with you."

I smiled then and pulled him closer to me, and I pressed my lips to his. And the kiss we shared then was more powerful and more passionate than any kiss we'd ever had before.

_**Okay…you know what to do now. REVIEW!!REVIEW!! REVIEW!!!I know you've all got lots to say about this chapter. And coming up next, is Lucas' POV again, taking off right from that kiss that ended this chapter. So hurry and review so you can read the next chapter. Thanks!**_

**_By the way, the song continued in this chapter is Valentine by Martina McBride_**


	37. THIRTY FOUR

**_Okay, two chapters to go readers…this one, and the epilogue and then it is over! So cherish this chapter and the next. In this chapter, for those of you who never read the original oneshot, you will finally understand the meaning of the title to the story. I hope to hear what you think of my interpretation and my comparison of Brucas to….well, you'll see! Enjoy!_**

* * *

_**THIRTY FOUR**_

I had never in my life felt such joy and happiness than I did at that moment I finally got to hold Brooke in my arms again, the moment she'd forgiven me and fell into my arms, pressing her lips against mine for the first time in two years. It felt so good to have her in my arms and to kiss her, so good that I wished we could stay that way forever. But then Brooke pulled away.

Her face close to mine and arms still wrapped around my neck, she smiled as she said, "You still never really answered my question."

"What's that?"

"Why'd you wait so long? You could have come to me or sent that letter you wrote to me a year ago to tell me how you felt. So why didn't you?"

I was about to answer her question when I realized something she'd just said.

"Hang on…" I said. "How'd you know about my letter?"

She smiled again. "Well, since your chicken, stubborn ass wouldn't send it, Peyton brought it to me when she came to see me."

"Whoa…Peyton came to see you? When?"

"About six, no seven months ago, I think. She drove here before going down to Savanaah, said she had to see me before she went."

I stared at Brooke longer. I couldn't believe she had gotten my letter after all. I couldn't believe Peyton had stolen it from me and came to see Brooke. But I was sure glad she did.

"Anyway, forget about that for now," Brooke said, snapping my attention and focus back to her. "Why didn't you tell me sooner how you felt about me? Why have you waited so long?"

I swallowed before I answered. "I was afraid. I was afraid you wouldn't let me back in, or that you didn't and wouldn't feel for me that way anymore."

"And…what made you think that?"

I hesitated, wondering if I should mention it or not. We'd both forgive each other, so what would be the point really? But…I answered anyway.

"Your letter," I said. "You said in it that you wanted me to forget about us. And then, after you left, you never called or wrote me or anything. You didn't even come home to visit at Christmas like you told us all you would when you'd chosen New York. So I took that as some pretty clear signs that you didn't want me anymore, that you didn't want me in your life anymore. Clearly, though…I was wrong?"

She nodded slowly and glanced down as she said, "I was waiting for you, Luke. In that letter, when I told you to forget about me and about us…I didn't really want that. I wanted you to come afater me, to realize you still loved me and to come after and fight for me. I…wanted you to rescue me."

I smiled at Brooke again, _my beautiful Brooke_, as I touched her cheek. "Well, I'm here now, pretty girl. I'll always be here. I will always rescue you when you need me to. And I will never, ever leave your side again…you or Vaeh's. I'm yours now,,,forever."

Brooke smiled at me once again and we kissed…again. I loved that soft, smooth feel of her lips against mine. It made me fee like I was right where I was supposed to be, and I was. And I wanted to keep kissing her, I wanted to kiss her all night long to make up for the two long years of not kissing her, but here was something, I realized, I still had to tell her.

"I have something for you," I told her when we broke from each other's lips again.

"You do? But…" she ran her gingers over my chest. "I already have everything I've ever wanted."

"That's nice to hear, but this…this is a special present for you."

"Okay, well you know I love presents!"

I laughed and kissed her hand before releasing them.

"Hang on," I said and I walked to the door.

I found the red gift bag right outside the door where I'd put it down earlier. I picked it up and brought it back inside with me. Brooke was waiting right where I'd left her by the counter.

"What is it?" She asked as I held the bag out for her.

"Open it and see," I said as she took the bag from me.

I watched as she pulled out the wooden boomerang, carved into it FOREVER.

"A boomerang…" I heard her whisper, and I saw her smile.

"It's a symbol," I started, ready the explain the meaning behind my present. "Of us. "Every time that you and I have been apart, since the first time we were together, we've somehow always found our way back to each other…no matter what. There have been obstacles that have tried to keep us from each other and I'll admit, most of those obstacles were created by me, but…they don't matter anymore. They've never really mattered. Because, like a boomerang does when you throw it out into the world, we found our way back to where we used to be, back to each other. And that…is how it will always, always be. It's you and me, Brooke…for eternity."

I saw the tears in her eyes again as she threw her arms around me again. And for the rest of the night (even after Nathan and Haley returned) all we did was hold each other close, knowing that finally…our hearts were in the right place.

* * *

_**Okay…what'd you think? Please let me know before you go off and read the epilogue! Thanks!**_


	38. EPILOGUE

**It has come…the final chapter of Boomerangs: Our Story. Now, I am going to save the final farewell for this story for later, but I just want you all to know now how much I truly appreciate all of your comments and interest in this chapter. It seriously has made me a better writer and has made the story eve n greater than I ever thought it could be. I would also like to give a HUGE shout out to Morgan (benz405) for EVERYTHING she did for this story. She gave me a huge foundation for the Lucas in the this story and has helped me think of so many incredible ideas. I may have been responsible for writing the original oneshot and for taking over this story solo, but Morgan made this story possible. So thanks, Morgan. You have been a great help, great friend and you ARE a TERRIFIC writer, whether you believe you are or not.**

**NOTE ALSO: this chapter takes place in the present; it is in italics because that is how we opened the story, in the present. Hope that isn't too confusing. But if it is just pm me and I'll explain.**

_**Okay, now on to the final chapter of the story…**_

* * *

_**EPILOGUE**_

"Boomerangs…you cast them out into the world and they always find their way back. And a perfect symbol of us. We remember every year, every Valentine's Day, that night we finally found our way back to each other. We haven't been apart since, and we never will be again."

_I close the book and look over at Brooke, sitting in bed next to me with that beautiful smile on her face._

"_Perfect," she says. "Perfect ending."_

_I smile back at her. "Well…you wrote that ending, remember?"_

"_I know. That's why it's so perfect."_

_I laugh and Brooke says, "Seriously, though. It's terrific, Luke. You did a good job."_

"_Me? Did you forget you co-authored? See…._Boomerangs: Our Storyby Lucas _and _Brooke Scott."

_She chuckles then and says, "Yeah, but all I did was give you my insight. You put it all together."_

"_But you helped me. I'm not going to let you talk me out of giving you credit, so you can stop being so modest."_

_She's still smiling as she says, "Okay, whatever. Anyway, it turned out really great,Luke. It'll be a New York Times Best Seller. Everyone will love it."_

"_Well, we'll see. Six weeks till its release date."_

_I look down and smile at Nevaeh, fast asleep between Brooke and I as she lays against Brooke's chest._

"_Apparently, though, it has already put her to sleep."_

"_Awe…no, I'm sure she loved it too. She's just tired. Let's see…" Brooke pushes some of our six year old's short dark hair back behind her ear, leans down and whispers, "What'd you think of the story, Vaeh?"_

_As Brooke pulls her head up, Vaeh stirs and opens her eyes._

"_Is it morning?" She mutters through a yawn._

"_Nope," I tell her. "Not yet."_

"_So it's still my birthday?" She's suddenly wide awake as she looks to her mother for confirmation. _

"_Yep," Brooke answers her. "For a few more hours anyway."_

"_Yay! Well, are you going to finish the story, or what Dad?"_

"_We already finished it, baby girl," Brooke tells her. "You fell asleep half way through."_

"_Awe, nuts!" She snaps her fingers and pouts and I can't help but smile as she looks so much like her mother. "Well, can you read it again, Daddy? Please?"_

"_No, not tonight, princess," I tell her as I pass the new novel to Brooke. "It's way past your bed time, and mommy needs her rest too."_

"_Awe…but I don't want to go to bed yet, Daddy. It's still my birthday!"_

"_I know, pumpkin, but even big birthday girls need their sleep."_

_Vaeh looks at Brooke then, hoping her mother will give her a different answer when she asks, "Do I have to, Mommy?"_

"_Afraid so, baby girl. But you know what? The sooner you go to bed and go to sleep, the sooner it will be morning and you can see grandma and Addison. They're coming over in the morning, remember?"_

"_Oh yeah! Okay, I'll go to bed right now!"_

_I watch with a smile as Vaeh kisses her mother good night, and then lowers her head to Brooke's pregnant stomach. She kisses her stomach twice and says, "Goodnight guys. Mommy and daddy says it's time for bed, so don't keep mommy up all night again. She's really tired."_

"_Okay, princess," I say as she sits up. "Let's go. Horseback?"_

"_Yay!"_

_Vaeh jumps on my back and I gallop her out of the room and down the hall._

* * *

_I can't help but smile as I watch Lucas carry Vaeh out of our room, both of them laughing. Lucas is such a wonderful father, just as I've always known he would be. He and Vaeh have a great relationship as father and daughter, and also as best friends. For that, I am so incredibly thankful. I don't know how I could have lived with myself if my keeping them apart that first year had hurt their relationship._

_Thankfully, though, that time apart had no negative consequences on their relationship now. If it had any effect at all on their relationship, it made them as close as they are now. Because Lucas has lived up to that promise he made me that night. He never left Vaeh's side again, nor did he mine. He stayed with us and took care of us. He even transferred from UNC, his dream school, to NYU so he could be nearer to us while I finished my degree._

_I'm not really sure what, or if anything made the difference, but Lucas and I did so much better the third time around. Actually, we're still doing great. Maybe it was being away from Tree Hill for awhile that helped us. Maybe it was the fact that we'd made a child together. Or, maybe, it was that we had both finally stopped running scared and just opened up our hearts. Whatever the reason, our relationship was stronger than ever…and it's lasted. _

_So I guess it really is true, what's been said before. If you love something, you set it free, and if it comes back, its yours forever. I know I truly believe in that now. I set Lucas free and he came back to me. He's mine forever now._

_Lucas and I have been back together for five years now, and we've been married for almost three years, since we moved back to Tree Hill to raise Vaeh around family, and so I could open my own clothing store and make _Clothes Over Bro's _even more accessible for purchase. The store has done so well, I've recently opened another location back in New York, being run by Amanda, or Mrs. Chase Adams as she is now._

_Amanda and Chase were married a year before Lucas and I, and they live just outside the city now with their two children, Kara and Marissa. I keep in very close touch with them to this day, not just because Amanda runs my store up there, but because they are family to me. I care about them as much as I do Nathan and Haley. _

_Speaking of Nathan and Haley, they are a very happy family too. Both Nathan and Haley are teachers now. It's surprised me, when Nathan turned down an offer to play in the NBA to become a teacher. But he said basketball wasn't his dream anymore, that his new dream was to be with his family and to help other kids, kids like he used to be. So now he's a Health teacher at Tree Hill High School, and he's also the coach of the Tree Hill Ravens, who haven't lost a single game since he's been coach. Nathan, as anyone would be, is very proud of his team and of his family, the family that added a new addition when Haley gave birth to Noah in November, much to the excitement of new big brother Keith._

_Anyway, back to Lucas and I. Moving back to Tree Hill has helped us grow closer as a family too, with each other and with our extended family. Next month marks not only our third wedding anniversary, but also the date the twins are due…all on Valentine's Day, believe it or not. _

_It's pretty obvious that Valentine's Day has become a very special day for Lucas and I. We are really looking forward to celebrating, all in one day, our third wedding anniversary, the birth of two new little Scotts, and the release of Lucas's new book, _Boomerangs: Our Story. _The excitement of it all is so built up inside me already that I can barely stand waiting six more weeks. _

_I never thought I could ever be this happy or this in love, not before Lucas came back. I'd been certain he was never going to come back to me, and that I would never be happy again because I would never love anyone like I loved him. But, obviously, he did come back to me, and now I am much happier with my life. And I'm especially happy to be sharing my life with Lucas and our daughter._

"_Finally…"I look up and see Lucas has returned and is making his way to the bed and to me. "We can be alone."_

_I giggle as he climbs into bed and kisses my lips._

"_Is she all tucked in, Dad?" I ask as he lifts his arm over my shoulders and I lean against him._

"_Yep. She's already sleep too, which is great for us because we'll get to be alone all night now, with no little girl in the middle this time."_

_I smile as I trace my finger along the plaid of his pajama bottoms, and I say, "Yes, and we get to be alone all day tomorrow too."_

"_We do, do we?"_

_He runs his fingers through my hair as I explain. "Uh, huh. Your mom is picking Vaeh up early and she's taking her and Addison to meet Nathan, Haley, Keith and little Noah for a day out. They're going t ogo to breakfast, shopping at the new mall, and then lunch."_

"_Oh cool. It'll be Noah's first trip ever to a mall. That'll be fun. He won't remember it, but it should be fun for the other kids."_

"_Yeah…and while they have fun at the zoo, you know what we get to do?"_

_I look up at Lucas to see if he can answer correctly. _

"_Be alone?"_

_I nod slowly as our lips meet again. I just love that feeling, his lips against mine. After the kiss, we cuddle silently together a few minutes._

"_Oh, I forgot to tell you," I remember something I'd wanted to tell him earlier after I glanced at a picture on my nightstand._

"_What?"_

"_I talked to Peyton today."_

"_You did?"_

"_Yeah." I sit up as I finish telling him. "Yeah, she called early this afternoon when I came in to get Vaeh's cake. She wanted to wish Vaeh a happy birthday and see how she liked the card and present she sent her."_

"_Did you tell her how sad Vaeh was to hear that she couldn't make it out for her birthday? And how practically depressed you were about it?"_

"_Yeah…"_

_There was a time not too long ago, after everything we'd been through with Lucas, that I'd been certain Peyton and I could never, ever be friends again. I hadn't wished it to be that way, but I'd been so hurt and betrayed by her that I didn't see how it was possible to ever forget that pain she'd caused me. But…having Nevaeh helped heal that pain in my heart and allowed to me forgive, especially after Peyton had made her little visit to New York to try and bring Lucas and I back together, after she had finally been honest with me and made that giant leap to try and mend our relationship._

_We did mend our friendship, Peyton and I. Day by day, month by month, year by year, we have gotten back to being good friends again. And our friendship now is greater than it ever has been before. Maybe it's the grown up in us, who knows. The point is…I have my best friend back again, and it is wonderful. Peyton even asked me to be her Matron of Honor at her wedding to Jake almost two summers ago. And last April, she and Jake asked Lucas and I to be godparents to their baby girl, Anna Rebecca. _

"_So are they still planning their vacation to come out next month?" Lucas wonders._

"_Yeah. Peyton, Jake and the girls will be here February 7__th__, and they're planning to stay two weeks. I told them we'll have plenty of room in this huge new house of ours._

"_Our dream house. It'l lbe fun having them stay with us. Vaeh will be excited. You know, I'm glad you two are such good friends again, Brooke. You two have always seemed like sisters to me, even when you weren't talking."_

_I nod, thinking about that too. I've always felt that way about Peyton too. She's always felt more like a sister to me than a best friend. Her and Haley both now…are sisters to me. I love having them in my life too."_

"_Oh, now I almost forgot something."_

_I look over at Lucas as he reaches dow over his side of the bed. _

"_What?" I wonder. He pulls up a red gift bag and looks back at me. "What's that?"_

"_It's a present," he tells me. "A Valentine's present."_

_I smile at him again. "Babe…you do realize you're about six weeks early with the present?"_

_He returns another smile. "Yes, I know. But since you're going to a little preoccupied Valentine's Day, with giving birth and all, I wanted to give it to you now. It's for the nursery. Go ahead…open it."_

_I look down into the bag and pull from it two miniature boomerangs, pink and blue and I can feel my emotions take over me again, just as they had when Lucas presented me with my first boomerang._

* * *

_The look on her face when she pulled out those two little boomerangs is exactly what I hoped it would be. I smile as I watch her look over each boomerang, running her fingers over the engravements….**HOPE** on the pink, and **CHANCE** on the blue._

"_I thought we could hang them over their cribs," I tell her. "Like ours hangs over our bed, and Vaeh's over hers. What do you think?"_

"_Lucas…" Brooke looks up at me and her eyes are so full of tears. "They're adorable…"_

"_You like them then?"_

_She nods and touches her belly as she says, "I love them. They're…they're…perfect…"_

_I should've known her crazy hormones were going to take over her when I gave her that present. She cries so easily these days and I never know how to stop it, so I move closer to her and hold her close to me. _

"_Awe…honey, it's okay. I didn't mean to make you cry."_

"_No…" I hear her sniffle before she goes on. "I'm crying because I'm happy, Luke. You…you make me so, so happy. And I love you so, so much."_

"_I love you too, Pretty Girl…always."_

_And we will love each other forever. There's no one and nothing in this world that can ever tear us apart again. But if something, god forbid, did happen to break us apart again, we would never stay that wy. Because, like the boomerangs do when you cast them out into the world, we will always, always…come back. And we will always come back to each other._

* * *

**Okay…so the story is over now. I never like ending my stories, but I do love it when they are finally complete because then I can look back and see how it all turned out. But I can definitely tell you that I am certainly going to miss writing this one…it was a challenge but also so much fun and interesting to write. It took a lot more thought than my others have. I did a lot of new things with it, like writing in the first person and from only 2 POV. That was all a first for me. You'll have to tell me how I did.**

**Anyway, while this is the final chapter, keep an eye out for another ud notice. Now, it won't be another chapter, but it will be my final farewell to you all from the story. You all now I can't end a story without giving you all a final farewell and thank you. Plus, I want to let you all in a new idea I've come up with for a new story, as well as an idea I have for a possible sequel to this. So I will be posting a final farewell very soon, possibly tomorrow, but I**

'**m not sure yet as I have to work and I have a graduatipon party to go to for my best friend. Anyway…while you all wait, you can go ahead and review on this chapter. Please, please, please review as much as you want, on everything you think about it. I looooooooooooove long reviews and I love hearing what you guys think. Thanks so much!**

**-Maureen**


	39. FINAL FAREWELL

Hey guys—So here it comes…the final farewell. It's sad, I know, but…it had to come sooner or later. And since I am so anxious to get started on my new story, I'm bringing the goodbye sooner, but I hope I will see you all reviewing at my new story, called Can't Ever Forget…but we'll get into that later. First, my thank yous.

_**You all have been awesome, awesome wonderful readers and reviewers and I truly appreciate everything that every one of you have had to say. And as I said before, I really do hope to see you continue reading my new story. I am so glad that you all enjoyed this story so much, as when I started it, I wasn't sure that it would be as well liked as it was, seeing as it was only a two sided story based around only one couple. But you all came, read and reviewed and I truly truly am greatful for that. Thank you all.**_

_**And I know you are all sad to see this story end…believe me, I am too. This has been one of my favorite stories to write. I will sure miss writing it, but now I can read it all over again beginning to end, as can all of you ( And…it might comfort you all to know that I have been seriously contemplating a sequel to this story. **_

_**I have had some ideas run through my head about where I could go with the story. All I can tell you about it now (and it is not certain, but…) it would be a very…angst filled, sad fic I think. There is one big storyline I have thinking that it would be the perfect one to top off the meaning behind this story, but it will be a sad story, if and when I write it. As stated, that is all I can tell you about it now, but if and when I get started on it, I will post a message here to let you all know. First, though, I want to get started on my new story.**_

_**Its called Can't Ever Forget, and it will be another Brucas based story, told in third person with point of view chapters. Seeing as the story will be my take on season 5, there will be major Chase and Peyton in it, with minor Naley, Leyton and Brase. Again, that is all I can say for now, but please keep a look out for the new title if you are interested, as it will contain more info. Can't Ever Forget will be starting very, very soon. **_

_**And now….it is time for me to end this story, to end the final farewell to Boomerangs: Our Story. It's been great guys…really really great. And I hope you really did enjoy the story as much as I feel you have. And I do hope to hear from you all again soon when I start the new story in a few days (or less…)**_

_**Thanks again.**_

_**Oh, and if you really will miss me and this story much, remember this….i am a writer. I am OBSESSED! With One Tree Hill. And I looooove writing OTH Fanfics. My ideas run wild and I cast them out and onto paper, writing until I can't write anymore. And even though my stories end, I will always come back with more…just as a boomerang comes back to you when you cast it out there…right? Lol hope you enjoyed guys…thanks for reading (**_


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